John O'Donnell honoured with UCD Law Alumni Award 2024

John O’Donnell SC with Deborah Obarisiagbon (Law with Politics student) and Professor Orla Feely, President of UCD.

The annual UCD Alumni Awards, held in October 2024, honoured John O’Donnell with the UCD Alumni Award in Law, recognising his career in law and literary achievements alike. The awards brought together exceptional members of UCD's global alumni network, celebrating their invaluable contributions across fields such as business, law, culture, healthcare, and the arts.

John graduated in 1980 with a BCL from UCD, later earning a Master’s in Law from Cambridge. Known for his expertise in civil and corporate litigation, John became a Senior Counsel in 2001. His book Examinerships is considered the leading text on corporate insolvency and rescue law in Ireland.

Beyond his legal achievements, John has excelled in literature, winning the Hennessy Award for Poetry and the Hennessy Award for Emerging Fiction, the Irish National Poetry Prize, New Irish Writing Awards for Poetry and Fiction, the Ireland Funds prize and the RTÉ Francis McManus Short Story Award.

He has published five poetry collections. His first short story collection Almost the Same Blue was a Sunday Independent Book of the Year. Rainbow Baby, an RTÉ radio play, won a New York Festivals Radio Award. His documentary about the 1979 Fastnet disaster, ‘Back To The Rock’, was broadcast on RTÉ’s Doc On One. An Irish Writers’ Centre Novel Fair winner in 2024, his debut novel Second Skin is forthcoming, as is a new short story collection. John has been a member of the board of Poetry Ireland, and has served on the board of the Arts Council. At the awards ceremony John spoke fondly and with great humour about his time studying law in UCD.

John O’Donnell accepting his award with MC Pat Kenny and Professor Orla Feely in the background

Professor Imelda Maher, John O’Donnell SC and Professor Laurent Pech, Dean of Law

The nine awardees at this year’s ceremony included Dr Emma Donoghue, celebrated writer (Arts and Humanities), Aengus Kelly, CEO of AerCap (Business), Dr Clíodhna Lyons, Director, Advanced Product Strategy & Planning (Engineering & Architecture), Dr Patrick Boland, pioneering orthopaedic surgeon (Health and Agricultural Sciences), John O’Donnell SC, Barrister, poet, and author (Law), Dr Patricia Scanlon, Ireland’s AI Ambassador (Research, Innovation and Impact), Paul Gillen, cybersecurity trailblazer (Science), Dr Martín von Hildebrand, Hero of the Amazon and defender of Indigenous rights, (Social Sciences, Ciara Mageean, Athlete (Sport).

John O’Donnell is the eleventh recipient of the UCD Alumni Award for Law.  Nominations for the award are sought from our alumni and stakeholders and we encourage you to get involved with the annual selection process by emailing alumnicommunications@ucd.ie with suggestions for future awardees.  The distinguished alumni who have been received this award over the past ten years, are as follows:

UCD Alumni Award for Law

2014                      (opens in a new window)Maeve O’Rourke

2015                      (opens in a new window)Miriam O’Callaghan 

2016                      (opens in a new window)Benjamin Cleary

2017                      (opens in a new window)Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC

2018                      (opens in a new window)Vincent Keaveny CBE

2019                      (opens in a new window)Colin Ryan

2020                      (opens in a new window)Sally Hayden

2021                      (opens in a new window)Fiona McEntee

2022                      (opens in a new window)Bill Shipsey SC

2023                      (opens in a new window)Aedamar Comiskey

2024                      (opens in a new window)John O’Donnell SC

Mr. Declan McCourt, RIP

The Sutherland School of Law is greatly saddened by the sudden death of the Chair of our Development Council, Mr. Declan McCourt, BA, MA, MBA, BL, PhD (hon. causa).  Declan has been an outstanding friend to the School over many years in his role of Chair of the Development Council, the advisory board to the Dean.  Declan worked tirelessly to advance the ambitions of the School on all fronts, showing an astute sensitivity to our education and scholarly ethos. Despite this being an entirely voluntary role, he was always on hand for the many Deans who worked with the Development Council over the years: Niamh Howlin, John Jackson, Imelda Maher, Joe McMahon, Paul O’Connor, Laurent Pech and Colin Scott.  Declan was seminal in supporting key initiatives in the School, most notably the new law building.  He worked with enthusiasm, focus and determination with the UCD President, the UCD Foundation, four Deans and the Academic Director to secure philanthropic support to realise the vision of the project, culminating in the first purpose-built law school in Ireland since the Kings Inns opened in 1700.

In addition to bringing his outstanding business acumen to School, he and the Walsh family were donors to the building, creating a lecture series and LLM scholarship to honour the eminent jurist and Supreme Court judge, Mr Justice Brian Walsh.

Declan was conferred with an honorary LLD in 2013, two years after the opening of the Sutherland School building.  He continued to chair the Council and support new philanthropic initiatives that have advanced equality of opportunity within the School and transformed the lives of students through scholarships and bursaries.  It is a fitting tribute to Declan that in our recent quality review, the assessors noted the importance of the Development Council and the support it has given to the School. 

A distinguished and highly successful businessman, Declan remained committed to public service and to the importance of education and scholarship in general and in UCD Sutherland School of Law in particular. His dedication and generosity over many years have left a legacy of real, lasting, and beneficial difference to Irish society. We will miss his astute judgement, dynamism, boundless energy and wonderful good humour. 

We extend our heartfelt sympathy to his wife Margaret, his family and friends.  Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

UCD SUTHERLAND OPPORTUNITY BURSARIES

Call for Applications

The UCD Sutherland School of Law is now inviting applications for the UCD Sutherland Opportunity Bursaries from undergraduate and graduate students of the School facing economic or financial challenges.

This generous bursary scheme is supported by philanthropic funding from our alumni and is designed to support students in UCD Sutherland School of Law who face financial challenges in completing their studies towards a UCD degree in the Sutherland School of Law.

Incoming exchange students are not eligible to apply for these bursaries (although incoming BCL/Maitrise students are eligible to apply).

Students who have previously applied for a bursary - whether successfully or unsuccessfully – and students already in receipt of Cothram na Féinne, are welcome to apply.

The closing deadline for submission of fully completed applications is by no later than 5pm on Wednesday, 6 November 2024.

All applications must be completed via the relevant online application form.

(opens in a new window)Click here to access the application form or see below.

Law Micro-credentials: A Flexible, Accredited way to Upskill and Reskill Professionals

UCD Sutherland School of Law offer an extensive range of short courses known as Micro-credentials. These are designed to provide professionals with a flexible, accredited way to enhance their legal knowledge and skills. This initiative addresses the growing demand for continuous learning and professional development in a rapidly evolving job market.

The Law Micro-Credentials offer a suite of short, focused courses that cover a range of legal topics, from corporate law, environmental law and human rights. Each micro-credential is tailored to meet the needs of professionals seeking to upskill in specific areas or reskill for new career opportunities.

Flexible Learning for Modern Professionals

Micro-credentials are highly flexible, enabling professionals to learn at one's own speed and on one's own schedule. Learners can choose from online or hybrid delivery modes, allowing them to balance their studies with work and personal commitments.

"I highly recommend UCD micro-credentials to anyone interested in broadening their knowledge in a field of interest via flexible learning that fits into a busy life. I chose Irish Law and Legal Studies as it was primarily a topic of interest and the learning offered very relevant transferrable knowledge and skills to my current role. It has given me an appetite for more and I will definitely be continuing on this journey."

Siobhan Mac Sweeney, Head of Research

Accredited and Industry-Recognized

Each micro-credential course is accredited, with each learner gaining University credit in the form of ECTS upon successful completion. The courses have been developed in consultation with industry leaders and legal experts to ensure that the curriculum is relevant and aligned with current professional standards.

However, if you organisation is interested in upskilling employees and our existing offering does not meet your specific needs, please email (opens in a new window)microcredentials@ucd.ie to discuss opportunities for the development of bespoke micro-credentials.

Diverse Course Offerings

Our Law Micro-Credentials cover a wide array of topics designed to cater to different interests and career goals. Popular offerings include:

• Foundations of Environmental Law (Level 9 | 10 ECTS | 80% Fee Subsidy)
• Natural Resources Law (Level 9 | 10 ECTS | 80% Fee Subsidy)
• Law of the European Convention on Human Rights (Level 9 | 10 ECTS | 50% Fee Subsidy)
• Arbitration Law and Procedure (Level 9 | 5 ECTS | 50% Fee Subsidy)
• Irish Law and Legal Procedure (Level 9 | 5 ECTS | 50% Fee Subsidy)
• Climate Change Law and Policy (Level 9 | 10 ECTS | 80% Fee Subsidy)
• United Nations Human Rights Practice (Level 9 | 10 ECTS | 50% Fee Subsidy)
• Cybersecurity Law and Regulation (Level 9 | 10 ECTS | 80% Fee Subsidy

These courses are open to professionals from various backgrounds, not just those currently working in the legal sector.

Supporting Career Advancement

Micro-credentials delineate UCD's broader commitment to lifelong learning and professional development. By offering targeted, practical legal education, the program aims to support career advancement and empower individuals to navigate complex legal environments with confidence.

Enrolment Now Open

Enrolment for the UCD Law Micro-Credentials is now open, with the first courses set to begin in September 2024. Prospective learners can find more information and apply through the UCD Micro-credentials website.

Explore all Law micro-credentials: UCD Micro-credentials-Law. 

Special celebration for the John M Kelly Lecture 2024 to mark ten years of Sutherland School of Law

Judge Suzanne Kingston delivering the John M Kelly Lecture 2024

The John M Kelly Lecture is one of the most important events in the calendar of UCD Sutherland School of Law.   This year, the School marks its tenth year in the Sutherland School of Law building and the lecture was a special celebration of that milestone.  The School was very pleased to welcome Judge Suzanne Kingston of the General Court of the European Union to deliver the John M Kelly Memorial Lecture 2024. Judge Kingston was a very highly regarded Senior Counsel practising at the Irish bar, prior to her appointment to the bench. She has also been a faculty member at UCD Sutherland School of Law since 2007. From 2015 to 2017 she led a major project in the School funded by the European Research Council (ERC).  This was the first ERC funded project at UCD Sutherland School of Law. The achievement was groundbreaking and since then, the School has acquired four more prestigious European Research Council projects.

As part of the ten-year celebrations, the school was honoured that the President of UCD, Professor Orla Feely also attended the lecture and made a speech to the large audience.  She welcomed the guests which included the Chief Justice, the Attorney General, many members of the judiciary, distinguished members of the wider legal profession and staff and students. She acknowledged the enormous contribution that philanthropy has played in the success of the School, both in the capital project for the building but also in providing financial supports for students and funding academic research and teaching posts.

The evening started with two current students speaking about their experiences of studying in UCD Sutherland School of Law. BCL Law with Politics student, Aisling Maloney, talked movingly about how the supports she has received, including a Cothrom na Féinne scholarship, have been transformative for her university experience. BCL Law with History student, Robert Grendon then spoke about the richness of his college experience, especially in contrast to the start of his degree during the pandemic when all classes were taught virtually. 

Professor Laurent Pech, Dean of Law spoke about the history of the John M Kelly lecture, honouring as it does, a former faculty member who also served as a government minister and attorney general who was a renowned, and often quoted, expert on constitutional law. 

Chief Justice, Mr Donal O’Donnell, a former student of Professor Kelly in UCD, described him as one of the most brilliant people to have taught in the School of Law. He also acknowledged the enormous contribution of the late Peter Sutherland in the area of European law. The Chief Justice introduced Judge Suzanne Kingston and expressed his great admiration for her achievements, commenting on how she has successfully managed to intersect an academic and a practising career and, at all times, demonstrate an unfailing commitment to the pursuit of excellence.

Judge Kingston’s lecture title was "On the role of constitutional identity: Teach solais or will-o’-the-wisp?” and in a highly informative overview of the subject, she talked about how the concept has given rise to a heated debate in the EU, with some regarding it as a guiding light and others arguing, equally vociferously, that it is essentially an opportunity for constitutional relativism.  Citing a myriad of cases from across the European Union, from the formation of the EEC to the modern day, Professor Kingston finished by concluding that, in her opinion, the concept of constitutional identity is here to stay.

A full video recording of Professor Kingston’s lecture will be available shortly and a paper will be published in the next issue of the Irish Jurist.

The Chief Justice, Mr Donal O’Donnell congratulates Robert Grendon and Aisling Maloney on their speeches

Former Supreme Court Justice, Mary Finlay Geoghegan with Judge Suzanne Kingston and Professor Orla Feely

Stephen Holst, Managing Partner of McCann FitzGerald with James Healy and Professor Laurent Pech

Professor Cathryn Costello with Michael Jackson, Managing Partner of Matheson LLP and Dr Amy Strecker

Former Attorney General, Harry Whelehan, Elizabeth Mullan and Declan McCourt, Chair of the UCD Sutherland School of Law Development Council

The audience included many PhD candidates and staff from UCD Sutherland School of Law

‘Digital Markets and the Law’: Workshop on emerging issues for businesses

Professor Imelda Maher welcoming practitioners, students and faculty to the workshop

As part of our celebrations of ten years in the UCD Sutherland School of Law building, we were pleased to host the ‘Digital Markets and the Law’ workshop in April 2024.

The UCD Sutherland School of Law provides an ideal space for legal practitioners, scholars and students to come together in order to discuss and debate emerging issues in law and business. This offers an opportunity for all to benefit from insights from the cutting edge of academic research combined with the perspective of some of Ireland's legal commercial law firms.

In this workshop entitled ‘Digital Markets and the Law’, the School was delighted to welcome representatives from leading Irish and international law firms to the Sutherland School of Law for a productive afternoon of discussion and debate. The workshop focused on emerging issues for businesses trading on digital platforms, an area of legal practice which is undergoing rapid and radical evolution as policy makers, business leaders and lawyers seek to build a regulatory architecture for the digital economy.

At the workshop, which was coordinated by Dr Noel McGrath and Professor Imelda Maher, we were delighted to welcome leading practitioners Nicholas Blake-Knox (Walkers), Rosaleen Byrne (McCann FitzGerald), Rory Curis (Arthur Cox), Liam Heylin (Mason Hayes & Curran), Killian Morris (AMOSS) and Calum Warren (Matheson). Our colleagues from the world of professional practice were joined by a range of faculty members with expertise in competition law, contract and company law, tax, and intellectual property law. Twelve of our students were also given the opportunity to take part  – they included three PhD candidates, Aoife McPartland, Stephanie Fitzpatrick and Somsubhra Banerjee, Masters student, Tom Griffin and Undergraduates, Andreena Corrigan, John Ryan, Mark O'Rourke, Christina Colgan, Simon Conran, Amber Madden Doyle, Robin Jowett and Elliot Baude.

Based on a case study provided by Dr Noel McGrath, participants discussed how traditional legal remedies such as injunctions and damages claims can be adapted to novel forms of legal dispute generated between businesses as traditional trade in goods and services is increasingly restructured and carried on through electronic trading platforms dominated by private companies. 

Workshop group (l to r) Dr Emer Hunt, Rosaleen Byrne, Partner at McCann FitzGerald, Aoife McPartland and John Ryan

Killian Morris, Partner at AMOSS LLP

Students Andreena Corrigan and Simon Conran in discussion with Rory Curtis, Associate at Arthur Cox

The Workshop was part of the School’s Celebration of Ten Years in the UCD Sutherland School of Law building

Students Simon Conran, Tom Griffin, Mark O’Rourke, Amber Madden Doyle, Andreena Corrigan and Christina Colgan

The James C Brady prize for 2022/2023 awarded to two outstanding students

Prize-winners Jessica Harte (second from left) and Gráinne Kinsella (third from right), pictured with Professor Oonagh Breen, James Brady’s daughter Sinead and granddaughter Clodagh and Professor Laurent Pech, Dean of Law.

At the recent UCD President’s prize giving in O’Reilly Hall, two outstanding law students were awarded joint medals for the James C Brady Prize for the academic year 2022/2023.  They were 2023 Law with French Law graduate, Jessica Harte, and final year Law with Social Justice student, Gráinne Kinsella. The ceremony was attended by two members of the late Professor Brady’s family - his daughter Sinead and granddaughter, Clodagh.

This annual prize commemorates James C Brady (1940-1998), Professor of the Law of Property and Equity in University College Dublin. It was established in 2001 by the James C Brady Memorial Trust as a tribute to Professor Brady and his skills in teaching and research in the field of equity and trusts. The prize includes a gold medal and a copy of the Liber Memoralis in honour of Professor Brady. It is awarded to the student who achieves the best combined result from two specific modules. The prize is awarded annually and is open to students from all law undergraduate degree programmes.

Matheson Diversity in Law Newman Fellow appointed at UCD Sutherland School of Law

(L-R) Matheson Director of Learning and Development, Nicola White; Newman Fellow Dr Saoirse Enright; Matheson Managing Partner, Michael Jackson; Assistant Professor at UCD Sutherland School of Law, Dr Sara Benedi Lahuerta and Dean of UCD Sutherland School of Law, Professor Laurent Pech

We are pleased to announce that Dr Saoirse Enright has been appointed as the Matheson Diversity in Law Newman Fellow at the UCD Sutherland School of Law. Matheson has funded the Matheson Diversity in Law Newman Fellowship to support research-based evidence in the field of access to legal education for under-represented groups, and to identify hurdles experienced by those groups to access and remain in the legal profession.

Dr Enright will join the law school to deliver a two-year, interdisciplinary project focused on identifying the barriers faced by under-represented groups to pursue a career in the legal profession, and aims to lead the development of current and new initiatives to improve access to law degrees and the profession more broadly. Dr Enright’s work will be conducted under the supervision of Dr Sara Benedí Lahuerta.

Professor Laurent Pech, Dean of Law and Head of the Sutherland School of Law said: ‘Dr Enright is a welcome addition to UCD Sutherland School of Law. Her research will allow us to better understand what barriers under-represented groups are facing to becoming practising lawyers, thus informing new initiatives for a more diverse legal workforce. We look forward to seeing the outcome of this project and the impact it will have on the legal profession in Ireland. This project would not be possible without the generous support from Matheson. Matheson are the first law firm to support a Newman Fellowship at UCD and we are incredibly grateful for their contribution.’

Matheson has funded the Matheson Diversity in Law Newman Fellowship to support research-based evidence in the field of access to legal education for under-represented groups, and to identify hurdles experienced by those groups to access and remain in the legal profession.

Michael Jackson, Managing Partner, Matheson, said: ‘The Matheson Diversity in Law Newman Fellowship is a key component of Matheson’s commitment to diversity and inclusion (D&I) as part of our Impactful Business Programme. To create a truly diverse and inclusive profession, we are matching our efforts to create a diverse workplace that values and celebrates differences, with the broader need to understand barriers to entry to the legal profession. Law firms and practising lawyers who have a more informed understanding of the barriers to entry should be able to more effectively empower and assist students and graduates from diverse backgrounds to overcome those barriers and pursue successful careers as practising lawyers.

Welcoming the appointment of Dr Enright, her supervisor, Dr Sara Benedí Lahuerta said: ‘It is my pleasure to welcome Dr Saoirse Enright to UCD Sutherland School of Law. Dr Enright recently completed an Irish Research Council Funded PhD at the University of Limerick under the supervision of Dr Laura Cahillane and also holds a first class honours in Bachelor of Laws as well as a Master of Laws. This is an important area of research and it is wonderful to have someone with Dr Enright’s level of experience taking up the role. I’m really looking forward to working with Dr Enright on this project.’

Dr Saoirse Enright said: ‘Despite much effort across the profession, many under-represented groups still face barriers to pursuing a career in law. This research project will seek to understand these barriers and identify what changes and initiatives need to be introduced so that we can create a profession that reflects the population it serves. I’m delighted to be taking up the role of Matheson Diversity in Law Newman Fellow at UCD Sutherland School of Law and contributing to the creation of a more diverse and inclusive legal profession.  I feel privileged to have received a Newman Fellowship. This prestigious award will allow me to enhance my research skills and create knowledge for a better world by providing me with the means to explore a cutting-edge research topic that is long overdue. I am looking forward to learning and developing my research skills under the expert guidance of Dr Benedi Lahuerta.’

The Fellowship is part of the wider Newman Fellowship Programme at UCD, which since its establishment in 1989, has seen leading Irish and multinational corporations, semi-state bodies, voluntary organisations and individuals support high-calibre, post-doctoral research across the humanities and sciences. Matheson is the first law firm to support a Newman Fellowship at UCD.

The Matheson Impactful Business Programme is designed to enhance the impact the firm makes by aligning and integrating its D&I, corporate social responsibility, environmental sustainability, arts and pro bono strategies within one dedicated programme. Matheson was the first organisation in Ireland to achieve the Investors in Diversity Gold Standard Award from the Irish Centre for Diversity for its commitment to D&I practices and, in 2022, became the first organisation to achieve re-accreditation of the Gold Standard.

Guide for 2024 Referendums on Family and Care

On Friday 8 March 2024, Irish Citizens are being asked to vote on two proposed changes to the Constitution.

To assist voters in understanding the changes being proposed, the UCD Centre for Constitutional Studies has published the following comprehensive guide to the referendum.

Download the Guide here

The Centre for Constitutional Studies promotes research and discussion of constitutional law and politics in Ireland, Europe and internationally. The Centre is housed in the Sutherland School of Law in UCD. It provides an open space for discussion and collaboration between scholars and practitioners from different disciplines and different institutions.

Professor Eoin Carolan is the Director of the Centre. His profile can be (opens in a new window)viewed here.

The Deputy Director of the Centre is Dr Sarah Fulham-McQuillan. Her profile can be (opens in a new window)viewed here.

The Centre's Chief Outreach Officer is Seána Glennon, who is currently a Doctoral Scholar at the School of Law. Her profile can be viewed here.

Professor Aisling Swaine joins UCD Sutherland School of Law 

Professor Aisling Swaine has joined UCD Sutherland School of Law from 1 January 2024 from the UCD School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice.

In 2023 Professor Swaine was awarded a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant of €2 million to lead ‘GENCOERCTRL’, a project examining women’s experiences of coercive control in armed conflict, and approaches to the issue in transitional justice, which now transfers to UCD Sutherland School of Law.

Professor Swaine’s research is important because, to date, coercive control has received little scholarly attention as a lens to understand women’s experiences of armed conflict. Professor Swaine’s project addresses this gap and specifically examines international legal responses to the issue through transitional justice mechanisms. By developing new methodological approaches to understanding this gendered phenomenon, and speaking with women across Colombia, Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka, ‘GENCOERCTRL’ will uncover the lived experience and nature of coercive control in conflict settings, and expand feminist scholarly critique of international law’s responses to women’s experiences of conflict.

Professor Swaine said: “This funding will push the boundaries of what we, as researchers, currently understand to characterise women’s experiences of armed conflict. There is so much more to conflict-related gendered harm than physical violence. This grant will allow us to uncover the more subtle ways that armed conflict dynamics impact women. By centering women’s own articulation of their lived experience of conflict, the project will advance not just better understanding of gendered harm, but also pathways towards better accountability through international law and global justice mechanisms.”

Commenting on Professor Swaine’s transfer to UCD Sutherland School of Law, Professor Laurent Pech, Dean of Law, said: “We are very pleased to welcome Professor Swaine, a leading scholar in the area of gender studies, to the school. Her project will allow us to create new synergies across several complementary disciplines and important areas of research. The school now hosts four European Research Council funded projects, a rare achievement for any law school in Europe and one that we are extremely proud of."

Aedamar Comiskey is honoured as Law Alumni Award Winner 2023

Law Student Darragh Gorman, Aedamar Comiskey and Professor Orla Feely

The annual UCD Alumni Awards Ceremony honours remarkable members of UCD's alumni network, highlighting their outstanding contributions to society, business, culture, and industry. In a celebration in O’Reilly Hall in November, Aedamar Comiskey received the prestigious Alumni Award in Law for 2023. Aedamar's remarkable journey led her to become Linklaters' Senior Partner and Chair in May, making history as the first female to hold this position in the firm's 183-year history. In the five years leading up to this, Aedamar was the Global Head of Corporate, responsible for managing the Firm’s corporate practice around the world. She currently chairs the Partnership Board and, before that, was a member of the Firm’s Executive Committee for five years. Known as a trailblazer in public and private M&A law, Aedamar's leadership extends to overseeing the firm's relationship with international giants such as HSBC, Visa, Capita, and Tate & Lyle.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the forefront of Aedamar's priorities. As a champion for progress, she actively sponsors Linklaters Women's Leadership Programme, supporting women in reaching senior leadership positions. Aedamar's accolades include being named among Europe's Most Influential Female Lawyers 2023 and recognized in City A.M.'s Power 100 Women List. Her dynamic personality and ability to navigate complex issues with good-humoured candour have earned her admiration from colleagues and clients alike. 

Reflecting on her university days at the ceremony, Aedamar shared a lighthearted story of seeking guidance from a fortune-teller in Dublin's Temple Street. Encouraged to pursue law, Aedamar's journey at UCD's School of Law unfolded, marked by academic excellence including her winning first prize for Jurisprudence in final year in college.

Read more about the (opens in a new window)UCD Alumni Awards, hear about (opens in a new window)Aedamar's motivation and outstanding achievements and watch(opens in a new window) the ceremony's highlights.

Aedamar Comiskey is the tenth recipient of the UCD Alumni Award for Law.  Nominations for the award are sought from our alumni and stakeholders and we encourage you to get involved with the annual selection process by emailing (opens in a new window)alumnicommunications@ucd.ie with suggestions for future awardees.  The distinguished alumni who have been received this award over the past ten years, are as follows:

UCD Alumni Award for Law

2014                      (opens in a new window)Maeve O’Rourke

2015                      (opens in a new window)Miriam O’Callaghan 

2016                      (opens in a new window)Benjamin Cleary

2017                      (opens in a new window)Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC

2018                      (opens in a new window)Vincent Keaveny CBE

2019                      (opens in a new window)Colin Ryan

2020                      (opens in a new window)Sally Hayden

2021                      (opens in a new window)Fiona McEntee

2022                      (opens in a new window)Bill Shipsey SC

2023                      (opens in a new window)Aedamar Comiskey

The Bank of Ireland Finance Student Awards November 2023

At a ceremony in late November, Sutherland School of Law honoured twenty-eight outstanding law students at the Bank of Ireland Finance Awards. We were awarding prize winners from the 2022/2023 academic year and also took the opportunity to award medals to top students from 2020/2021.  Medals had not been awarded to these students due to the prevailing circumstances of the covid pandemic and we were very pleased to have the opportunity to address this omission.

Senator Michael McDowell SC presented each of the students with their medals in front of an audience of students, their parents and members of staff from the School of Law.  Former Minister for Justice and Attorney General, Senator McDowell is an Adjunct Professor of Sutherland School of Law and we were very pleased to welcome him to the school for the prize giving.

The award ceremony has run since 1976 and was originally sponsored by Bank of Ireland with Bank of Ireland Finance taking over in 2021. Previous prize winners have included, Síofra O’Leary, President of the European Court of Human Rights, Attorney General, Mr Rossa Fanning, Mr Justice David Barniville, President of the High Court, Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly of the Supreme Court, Professor Deirdre Curtin of the European University Institute of Florence, Professor Gráinne de Búrca of New York University and Ms Aedamar Comiskey, Senior Partner and Chair of Linklaters.

The stage 1 prize is awarded for the Tort Essay and for the past 42 years this has been adjudicated by senior members of the judiciary. This year we were honoured to have Ms Justice Marie Baker of the Supreme Court undertake the task on our behalf.  The prizes for Stage 2, 3 & 4 are awarded to the top students for their overall performance across all law programmes in that particular year.  The twenty-eight outstanding students who were awarded medals are outlined below and photographs of those who attended on the evening.

2022-2023 Winners

Level I Tort Essay: First Place (Gold Medal) Liza Guezenec, Second Place (Silver Medal) Marc Bracken, Third Place (Bronze Medal) Cara McCaul.

Stage II: First Place (Gold Medal) Hernan Perez McKay, Shared second Place (Silver Medals) - Aoife Devlin and Sarah O'Reilly.

Stage III: First Place (Gold Medal) Mark O'Rourke, Second Place (Silver Medal) Christina Colgan, Third Place (Bronze Medal) Simon Conran.

Stage IV: First Place (Gold Medal) Caitriona Hosford, Shared Second Place (Silver Medals) - Sadhbh Ní Ghráda, Robert O’Sullivan, Molly McHugh and Roisin O'Donovan.

2020-2021 Winners

Level I Tort Essay: First Place (Gold Medal) Patrick Ryan, Second Place (Silver Medal) Benjamin Wyant, Third Place (Bronze Medal) Ciara Coughlan.

Stage II: First Place (Gold Medal) Ciara Coughlan, Second Place (Silver Medal) Eimear McMahon, Third Place (Bronze Medal) Patrick Ryan.

Stage III: First Place (Gold Medal) Emily Cahill, Second Place (Silver Medal) Jessica Commins, Third Place (Bronze Medal) Ben McDonald.

Stage IV: First Place (Gold Medal) Kevin O'Connor, Second Place (Silver Medal) Elizabeth Higgins, Shared Third Place (Bronze Medals) - Maryia Amelyanchuk, Rory Clarke and Sean Desmond.

2022-2023 Stage IV Gold Medal winner, Caitriona Hosford

2022-2023 Stage IV Silver Medal winners  - Sadhbh Ní Ghráda and Robert O’Sullivan

2022-2023 Stage IV Silver Medal winners - Molly McHugh and Roisin O'Donovan

2022-2023 Stage III Gold Medal winner, Mark O’Rourke

2022-2023 Stage III Silver Medal winner, Christina Colgan and Bronze Medal winner, Simon Conran

2022-2023 Stage II Silver Medal winner, Sarah O’Reilly

2022 – 2023 Tort Silver Medal winner, Marc Bracken, and Bronze Medal winner, Cara McCaul

2020-2021 Stage IV Gold Medal winner, Kevin O’Connor

2020-2021 Stage IV Silver Medal winner, Elizabeth Higgins

2020-2021 Stage IV Bronze Medal winners, Maryia Amelyanchuk and Sean Desmond

2020 – 2021 Dual winner Patrick Ryan - Gold Medal for the Tort Essay and Bronze Medal for Stage II

Milestone Reunion of the Classes of 1983, 1993, 2003 and 2013

1993 BCL Classmates Jeanne Kelly, Michael Barr, Laura Delaney and Grainne Butler

In late November 2023 we were delighted to have the opportunity to celebrate the Milestone Reunions of the classes of 1983, 1993, 2003 and 2013 in UCD Sutherland School of Law.

The evening began with the classmates gathering in the Gardiner Atrium to share stories, reminisce and reignite connections.  Music was by harpist Teresa O'Donnell and the group enjoyed canapés and wine while they caught up with old friends. With a warm welcome from Professor Laurent Pech, Dean of UCD Sutherland School of Law, attendees were taken on a brief stroll down memory lane, highlighting key moments from the School's history since many had last been on the Belfield campus. There were alumni who had spent their college years in Roebuck Castle and others the Newman Building (better known then as the Arts Block). For many it was their first visit to the Sutherland School building which officially opened in late 2013.

Subsequently, each class moved to breakout rooms, providing an opportunity for more intimate interactions among peers. Class speakers shared anecdotes, stories were exchanged, and each class captured their unique bond in a memorable group photo.

The invaluable assistance of Class Speakers and Class Reps proved instrumental in reaching out to classmates. Their efforts, along with the support of all those involved, contributed to creating a fantastic atmosphere for this special occasion. Our gratitude extends to everyone who played a role in making the night a resounding success.

To stay informed about your own upcoming reunion and other UCD events, please ensure that we have your updated details. You can update your information and find out more about the benefits of being one of the UCD Alumni community at this link.  That will ensure that you don’t miss out on the latest news from UCD and the School of Law and that you hear about any potential events or gatherings that might be of interest to you!

BCL 2003 classmates Brian McCloskey, Robert Fitzpatrick, Dr Niamh Howlin and Emma Redmond with Professor Laurent Pech (second from right) 

Carmel O’Connor, Hugh Mohan SC and Carmel Moore of the BCL Class of 1983

Classmates from the Class of 2013

The BCL Class of 1983

The BCL Class of 1993

The BCL Class of 2003

The BCL Class of 2013

The new Individual Accountability Framework in Financial Services Ireland

In November 2023, UCD, in collaboration with Eversheds Sutherland, hosted a conference on the new Individual Accountability Framework in Financial Services in Ireland. Pictured above are Ciaran Walker of Eversheds Sutherland, Professor Elizabeth Sheedy of Macquarie University, Gerry Cross of the Central Bank of Ireland, Professor Blanaid Clarke of Trinity College Dublin and Dr Joe McGrath of UCD Sutherland School of Law.

The new Framework is set out in the Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Act 2023. The conference brought together leading academics, industry leaders, practicing lawyers and representatives from the Central Bank of Ireland to discuss the implications of this major new development, which is aimed at improving governance and culture in financial services in Ireland. Drawing together national expertise and international experience, and harnessing insights from law and behavioural psychology, the aim of conferences such as this is to build a community of practice to share learnings to promote ethical behaviour and positive banking cultures. In particular, it serves to facilitate constructive engagement between academic experts, practitioners, regulators and policy-makers to address issues of importance to financial services in Ireland. 

The conference was convened by Dr. Joe McGrath, Sutherland School of Law and Ciaran Walker, Eversheds Sutherland.  Other contributors included Professor Niamh Moloney of the London School of Economics, Dr Wieke Scholten of BR Insights, Neil Freshwater, CEO, Zurich Insurance plc, Brian Hayes, CEO, Banking & Payments Federation of Ireland, Michael D’Arcy, CEO, Irish Association of Investment Managers, Dr Margaret Cullen of the Institute of Directors, Evelyn Cregan of the Institute of Bankers and Joanne Hyde and Sophie White, both partners in Eversheds Sutherland.  The conference was opened by Professor Colin Scott, Registrar of University College Dublin since 1 December 2023.

Leading scholar of EU Law and Labour Law joins UCD Sutherland School of Law

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Dagmar Schiek to the position of Full Professor of EU Law and Labour Law at UCD Sutherland School of Law.

Dagmar Schiek has moved to UCD from University College Cork, where she held the Synnott Family Chair in EU law and directed the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence EU Integration and Citizens’ Rights. She has been a professor of EU law from 2000, and a Jean Monnet ad personam Chair from 2011, with a background in comparative labour law and anti-discrimination law.

She joins UCD Sutherland School of Law with the project RIGHTS TO UNITE, which develops a new socio-legal theory of European integration, questioning the extent to which the Union can rely on the integrative capacity of its law in its Member States and neighbouring countries. It combines theoretical inquiry with comparative research in 8 smaller states in the EU and its neighbourhood (Czechia, Georgia, Greece, Ireland, Northern Ireland (UK), North Macedonia, Norway, Sweden).

Professor Schiek has a PhD from the University of Hamburg, where she studied law, and a Habilitation from the University of Bremen, where she commenced her academic career as an associate professor. She has established interdisciplinary centres for EU research at the University of Leeds (2007-2014) and Queen’s University Belfast (2014-2020), and has held visiting positions at University of Melbourne, University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), University of Christchurch (New Zealand), Kyiv Mohyla Akademi Law School, London School of Economics and Maastricht University.

Commenting on Professor Schiek’s appointment, Professor Colin Scott, Principal, UCD College of Social Sciences and Law and Vice President for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at UCD said: “Professor Schiek joined the Faculty on November 1, bringing not only outstanding research credentials and extensive international teaching experience, but also great experience in research leadership. At UCD, she will develop new institutional collaborations on EU Law and Comparative Labour Law”.

Professor Laurent Pech, Dean of Law and Head of the UCD Sutherland School of Law added: “The Sutherland School of Law is delighted to welcome Professor Schiek, a leading expert in socio-legal studies of EU Law and Labour Law and the first legal scholar in Ireland to secure a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant. Professor Schiek’s appointment will further strengthen our research and teaching capabilities in the field of European studies and provide us with the unique opportunity to hire a team of researchers working in multiple jurisdictions due to the comparative nature of Professor Schiek’s ERC research project.”

Four Adjunct Professors Appointed to UCD Sutherland School of Law

(L to R) Rossa Fanning, Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, Sally Hayden, Dr Michael O’Flaherty

UCD Sutherland School of Law was pleased to welcome four distinguished Adjunct Professors to our faculty at the start of the academic year 2023 – 2024. Attorney General Rossa Fanning, Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, Sally Hayden, and Dr Michael O’Flaherty, have all agreed to take on the role of Adjunct Professor at the school.  All four are graduates of the School of Law in UCD.

Rossa Fanning SC has served as the Attorney General of Ireland since December 2022. He was called to the Bar in 1999 and appointed Senior Counsel in 2016. He has worked across a broad spectrum of commercial cases including insolvency and restructuring, commercial leases, defamation, debt recovery, repossessions and professional negligence. He has a strong connection with UCD having taught in the School of Law in his early career. He is also a past auditor of UCD LawSoc.

Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC is a prominent human rights lawyer who practises as a barrister with Doughty Street Chambers in London. She has acted in many landmark human rights cases before the European Court of Human Rights, United Nations bodies and other international tribunals. Her prominent work has included acting for bereaved families and survivors of the 7/7 London bombings and the Hillsborough disaster.

Sally Hayden is an award-winning journalist who has reported extensively on issues related to migration, conflict, human rights and humanitarian crises for many of the world’s leading news publishers. Her book “My Fourth Time, We Drowned: Seeking Refuge on the World’s Deadliest Migration Route” won the 2022 Orwell Prize for Political Writing and was named the An Post Irish Book of the Year.

Dr Michael O’Flaherty is Director of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, has served as Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, was a member of the UN Human Rights Committee and head of a number of UN Human Rights Field Operations. He was previously a Professor of Human Rights Law at the University of Galway.

Adjunct Professors are appointed by UCD Sutherland School of Law to enhance our teaching, contribute to our research profile and to add to the intellectual life of the school.  These prestigious appointments reflect our desire to offer students the opportunity to engage with inspirational professionals throughout their time in UCD.

Commenting on these appointments, Professor Laurent Pech, Dean of Law said “We are delighted to welcome back four of our most eminent BCL alumni to our School as adjunct professors. We look forward to working with them more closely at a time where the UCD Sutherland School of Law is working on further enhancing its clinical, teaching and research activities in multiple fields, including European law, fundamental rights law, global migration law and rule of law related issues.”

Launch of Barristers in Ireland: An Evolving Profession Since 1921 by Dr Niamh Howlin

Hugh Mohan SC, Attorney General Rossa Fanning, Dr Niamh Howlin and Sara Phelan SC

Niamh Howlin's latest book, Barristers in Ireland: An Evolving Profession Since 1921, was launched by Attorney General Rossa Fanning SC at the Bar of Ireland's Distillery Building on 12 October.  Members of the bar and judiciary, UCD colleagues and friends were welcomed by Sara Phelan SC, Chair of the Bar Council, and Hugh Mohan SC, Chair of The King's Inns. The Attorney General described the book as 'a meticulously researched publication.' Published by Four Courts Press, it combines empirical and archival sources to consider the history of barristers in Ireland from 1921-1999.

The book is published by Four Courts Press and copies are on sale now at (opens in a new window)this link. 

Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty, The Honorable Patricia M. Lucas and Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly

Dr Cliona Kelly, Dr Liam Thornton, Professor Laurent Pech, Dr Suzanne Egan and Professor Imelda Maher

Barristers in Ireland: An Evolving Profession Since 1921

UCD SUTHERLAND OPPORTUNITY supported by MASON HAYES & CURRAN LLP BURSARIES

Call for Applications

The UCD Sutherland School of Law is now inviting applications for the UCD Sutherland Opportunity Supported by Mason Hayes & Curran LLP Bursaries from undergraduate and graduate law students in the School who are facing economic or financial challenges.

This very generous bursary scheme is funded by Mason Hayes & Curran LLP and is designed to support UCD law students who encounter a financial challenge in continuing their undergraduate studies or in pursuing graduate study at UCD Sutherland School of Law.

Incoming exchange students are not eligible to apply for these bursaries (although incoming BCL/Maitrise students are eligible to apply).

Students who have previously applied for a bursary - whether successfully or unsuccessfully – and students already in receipt of Cothram na Féinne scholarships as part of UCD Sutherland Opportunity supported by Mason Hayes & Curran LLP, are welcome to apply for bursaries.

Applicants must supply their student name, student number and UCDConnect email address in the application

The closing deadline for submission of fully completed applications is by no later than 5pm on Wednesday, 1 November 2023.

All applications must be completed via the relevant online application form– (opens in a new window)click here to access the application form or see below.

Professor Ian O'Donnell wins US Criminology Book Award

Professor Ian O’Donnell’s latest book, Prison Life: Pain, Resistance, and Purpose, published by New York University Press, has won the 2023 Outstanding Book Award given by the American Society of Criminology’s Division of International Criminology.

Prison Life offers a fresh appreciation of how people in prison organize their lives, drawing on case studies from Africa, Europe and the US. The book describes how order is maintained, how power is exercised, how days are spent, and how meaning is found in a variety of environments that all have the same function – incarceration – but discharge it very differently. It is based on an unusually diverse range of sources including photographs, drawings, court cases, official reports, memoirs, and site visits.

Ian O'Donnell, Professor of Criminology at UCD Sutherland School of Law

Ian O’Donnell contrasts the soul-destroying isolation of the federal supermax in Florence, Colorado with the crowded conviviality of an Ethiopian prison where men and women cook their own meals, seek opportunities to generate an income, elect a leadership team, and live according to a code of conduct that they devised and enforce. He explores life on wings controlled by the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland’s H Blocks, where men who saw the actions that led to their incarceration as politically motivated moved as one, in perpetual defiance of the authorities. He shows how prisoners in Texas took to the courts to overthrow a regime that allowed their routine subjugation by violent men known as building tenders, who had been selected by staff to supervise and discipline their peers.

In each case study O’Donnell presents the life story of a man who was molded by, and in return molded, the institution that held him. This ensures that his reflections on law and policy as well as on theory and practice never lose sight of the human angle. Imprisonment is about pain after all, and pain is personal.

Prison Life is available in paperback and as an e-book from all of the usual places. (opens in a new window)https://nyupress.org/9781479816156/prison-life/  

International Conference on Education and Democratic Citizenship (ICEDC) hosted in Sutherland School of Law

The UCD Centre for Human Rights was honoured to host the 14th International Conference on Education and Democratic Citizenship (ICEDC) at the Sutherland School of Law on June 12th, 2023.  This is the first time the ICEDC Conference has been convened outside its usual home at the Institute of Education at University College London.  The annual conference is a meeting place for scholars and researchers from the fields of law, education, sociology, history, politics, and other relevant disciplines, as well as policymakers and civil society activists from across Europe and internationally to present and discuss current research and policy relating to human rights education and citizenship. 

(L to R) Professor Laura Lundy (Co-Director of the Centre for Children’s Rights and Professor
of Education, Law and of Children’s Rights at Queen’s University Belfast and the School of
Law, UCC); Dr. Suzanne Egan (Associate Professor and Director of Knowledge Exchange, UCD
School of Law); Professor Audrey Osler (Professor of Citizenship and Human Rights Education
at the University of Leeds and Professor of Education at the University of South Eastern
Norway); and Professor Hugh Starkey (Professor of Citizenship and Human Rights Education,
Institute of Education, University College London).

Taking place on the 75th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was adopted by the UN in 1948, the theme of this year’s conference was Human Rights and Education: Past, Present and Future. Education is central to the fulfilment of many of the rights in the Declaration and Article 26 of the text expressly provides that the right to education itself should be directed “...to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms”.

The conference featured presentations from some 24 participants in parallel sessions on a range of relevant topics including issues in and methodologies of human rights education in schools and at third level, and the role of human rights education in combating discrimination and sexual abuse.  These sessions were interspersed by fascinating keynote speeches by three leading scholars in the field of human rights education and children’s rights: Professor Laura Lundy (Queen’s University Belfast and UCC, School of Law) addressed children’s right to education: past, present and future; Professor Audrey Osler (University of Leeds and University of South-Eastern Norway) spoke on the theme of extending human rights education by exploring contentious issues through family histories; while Professor Hugh Starkey (University College London) closed out the conference proceedings with a presentation on human rights education in context: peace, antiracism, global citizenship and the climate emergency.  

The conference was convened by Associate Professor Suzanne Egan (who leads the School of Law’s clinical modules on human rights education and law in the classroom) together with Professors Osler and Starkey.   All three are members of the editorial team of the Human Rights Education Review (HRER) an open access, online international scholarly journal which provides a forum for research and critical scholarship on human rights and diversity in education internationally.  It is hoped that the best papers from the conference will be published in a forthcoming issues of the(opens in a new window) (opens in a new window)Human Rights Education Review (HRER)

Four UCD Law students take part in 'Our Rule of Law Academy' in Brussels

UCD Law with French Law student, Roisin O'Donovan, speaking at ‘Our Rule of Law Academy’.

We are extremely proud of our four students who participated in the first edition of the Rule of Law Academy between January and March 2023.  The ‘Our Rule of Law Academy’ is an academic mentorship programme for the future generation of rule of law defenders. As part of the programme, forty-five undergraduate students from twenty-five EU Member States conduct research and develop policy proposals in the area of European Law. They are divided into eleven working groups and are supervised by twenty-two rule of law experts. This year the mentors included UCD alumna Prof Grainne de Burca of NYU and UCD Dean of Law, Prof Laurent Pech.  The students who participated this year from UCD Sutherland School of Law were:

•    Roisin O'Donovan (Law with French Law): Academic Freedom Working Group 
•    Katie O'Sullivan (Law with Politics): Political and Policy Methods Working Group 
•    Saira Khan (Business and Law): Non-implementation of ECtHR/ECJ judgements Working Group
•    Marianne Wetter (Law with French Law): Protection of NGOs Working Group

The aim of the project is to educate young students of law and related disciplines through educational democracy - and rule of law-related activities, draw upon their international and intercultural background, and encourage them to get personally involved in the fight for European democracy. Each of the eleven groups tackles a particular issue of the European rule of law crisis and develop a policy proposal designed to tackle the select issue. In this way the combined efforts of all the participants and mentors will lead to a holistic policy response to the rule of law crisis.

As part of their time in Brussels, the students also got the opportunity to visit the European Commission.  There they attended talks given by distinguished speakers which included UCD Alumna, Judge Síofra O'Leary, President of the European Court of Human Rights.

The outcomes of the programme have now been published and are available to download (opens in a new window)here.

Minister Roderic O’Connor chairs panel at seminar hosted by UCD Centre for Constitutional Studies

The UCD Centre for Constitutional Studies has organised several successful events under its professional development programme so far in 2023.
The year started with its 9th annual update on Irish Constitutional Law which took place in January with speakers Professor Eoin Carolan SC, Brian Foley SC, Dr Tom Hickey (DCU), Dr Sarah Fulham McQuillan and Associate Professor John O'Dowd.  Speakers looked at the key decisions on Irish constitutional law that were delivered by the courts in 2022.

Prof Eoin Carolan SC, Minister Roderic O’Gorman, Orla Keane and Prof Laurent Pech, UCD Dean of Law

In late April, the Centre organised an information event for legal and healthcare professionals to  coincide with the commencement of ‘The Assisted Decision-Making Capacity Act.  The Act marks the biggest change for decades in Ireland's legal framework for people with capacity issues and abolishes the current wards of court system.  The first panel of the day was hosted by Mr. Justice David Barniville, President of the High Court and the second by Mr. Roderic O’Gorman TD, Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. Guest speakers included Áine Hynes SC, St John Solicitors, Fiona McNulty, Mason Hayes & Curran, Aoife Mulligan BL and Orla Keane, General Counsel Mental Health Commission and the Decision Support Service.

Mr. Justice David Barniville with Áine Hynes SC of St John Solicitors

The Centre’s annual ‘Current Issues in Irish Public Law’ conference was held again this year with twenty-five participants from the judiciary, law firms and academia. The conference is one of the Centre’s largest annual events and attracts speakers and attendees from academia and legal practice every year.

This year, the Centre was honoured to welcome the following distinguished guests to chair panels through the day: Hon. Mr. Justice Collins, Supreme Court, Hon. Ms. Justice Butler, Court of Appeal, Hon. Mr. Justice O’Higgins, High Court, Hon. Ms. Justice Phelan, High Court, Mr Rossa Fanning SC, Attorney General and Ciarán Toland SC.  

The UCD Centre for Constitutional Studies was also grateful to the many speakers who delivered papers on the day: Denise Brett SC, Eoin Carolan SC and UCD, Sarah Cooney BL, Roisin Costello BL, April Duff BL, Emily Farrell SC, John Fitzgerald SC, Brian Foley SC, Finn Keyes BL, Ronan Lupton SC, Tony McGillicuddy SC, Aoife Mc Mahon BL, Aoiffe Moran from Mason Hayes & Curran, Aoife Mulligan BL, Professor Colm O’Cinneide of UCL, John O’Dowd from UCD,  Ailbhe O’Neill SC and TCD, Bernadette Quigley SC, Eltin Ryle of Matheson and Mark Rodgers BL.  

Those interested in attending future events can ensure that they receive advance information by emailing law.events@ucd.ie.

International Symposium “Entrenching a Global Health Emergency Mode: Implications for Health and Human Rights Law”

(Front) Moyinoluwa Adelakun, Dr. Amrei Müller, Philipp Kruse, Dr. Marie-Luce Paris, Dr. Silvia Behrendt, Prof. David Dürr, (Back) Prof. Joseph Cannataci, Prof. Günter Reiner, Dr. David Bell, Prof. Michael Geistlinger

UCD Centre for Human Rights and UCD Sutherland School of Law were honoured to host an international research symposium on the topic ‘Entrenching a Global Health Emergency Mode: Implications for Health and Human Rights Law’ on the 15th and 16th of June 2023. The event was organised by Dr Amrei Müller and Dr Silvia Behrendt.  

The symposium involved academics and practitioners with expertise in the area of international and domestic health law, the law of the World Health Organisation (WHO), as well as domestic, European and international human rights law. 

In two days of intense discussions, the symposium explored the various ways in which the powers of the WHO and its Director-General to declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) under the 2005 International Health Regulations (IHR) and to subsequently recommend WHO member states to take medical and non-medical countermeasures against such a PHEIC impact on international, regional and domestic human rights law and the the regulatory frameworks for medicinal product authorisations. These discussions appeared particularly timely as intense negotiations of a new treaty on pandemic preparedness and response are currently on-going at the WHO, and the IHR are thoroughly revised and amended in a parallel process. 

The symposium also examined broader questions concerning the securitisation of pandemic preparedness and response laws and policies, and the legal implications of the on-going public-private hybridisation of formerly public inter-governmental organisations like WHO, primarily through an increasing reliance on public-private partnerships like the Vaccine Alliance Gavi and its Covax facility as well as the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Cepi). 

UCD Centre for Human Rights would like to thank all participants for their valuable contributions, and UCD Sutherland School of Law for excellent administrative support of the event. 

The 1981 BCL Class celebrate forty years since graduation

We were delighted to support the organisers of the Class of 1981 Reunion in February 2023. The Milestone Reunion which we would normally have hosted for them in 2021 had not taken place due to Covid but they were able to belatedly mark their 40 Years since graduation from the UCD School of Law, this year.

Over 60 Alumni gathered in the Blue Room of the Law Society of Ireland in Blackhall Place for the event led by class alumni Martin Lawlor, Richard Devereux and Gearóidín Charlton who worked for several months on the event, supported by UCD Alumni Relations on the event.

Alumni were greeted on arrival by UCD Alumni Relations and were gifted a commemorative UCD pin. During the reminiscing, catch ups and champagne, Law lecturer John O'Dowd from the UCD Sutherland School of Law spoke to the Class of 1981 about some of the changes that had happened at the School over the last four decades, updating them on previous lecturers, current school activities and achievements.

Following the speeches, the class retired to the Restaurant in Blackhall Place to continue the evening over dinner and catch up on a few more memories. 

Margaret Walsh, Adrienne Bergin and Isabel Foley

Mr Justice Michael McGrath, Gearóidín Charlton and Orla Finn

Nollaig Green and Mary Quinn

The BCL Class of 1981

Paddy McNeice, Ursula Quinlan, Shea Cullen and Brian Farren

John M. Kelly lecture 2023 delivered by Baroness Onora O’Neill

(L to R) Mr Nick Kelly, Prof Laurent Pech, Baroness Onora O’Neill and Mr Justice Donal O’Donnell, Chief Justice

UCD Sutherland School of Law was delighted to welcome Baroness Onora O’Neill to deliver the 2023 John M. Kelly Memorial Lecture in late March. This is the most prestigious event in the Sutherland School of Law’s calendar and Baroness O’Neill chose to address the topic: ‘'Philosophical views on judgement” in her lecture.

The Chief Justice, Mr Justice Donal O’Donnell, an alumnus of the school, introduced Baroness O’Neill. The Chief Justice is a former student of John Kelly’s from UCD and also delivered a lecture in the series in 2016. Professor Laurent Pech, Dean of Law began the evening’s proceedings by welcoming the Chief Justice, the Kelly Family and the audience in attendance.

We are delighted to share the recording of Baroness Onora O’Neill’s lecture(opens in a new window) here.

Baroness O’Neill of Bengarve CH CBE FBA Hon FRS FMedSci MRIA

Onora O’Neill comes from Northern Ireland and was educated in London before attending university in Oxford and Harvard, where she completed a PhD under the supervision of John Rawls.  She has taught at various universities in the US and the UK, and was Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge from 1992 to 2006.  She combines writing on political philosophy and ethics with a wide range of public activities. She chaired the Nuffield Foundation from 1998-2010 and was President of the British Academy from 2005-9. She has been a crossbench member of the House of Lords since 1999. She has served on House of Lords  Select Committees on Stem Cell Research, BBC Charter Review, Genomic Medicine, Nanotechnology and Food, Behavioural Change and Political Polling and Digital Media. 

She has published Acting on Principle (second edition 2013), Faces of Hunger: An Essay on Poverty, Development and Justice (1986), Constructions of Reason: Explorations of Kant's Practical Philosophy (1989), Towards Justice and Virtue (1996), Bounds of Justice (2000), Autonomy and Trust in Bioethics (2002), A Question of Trust (the 2002 Reith Lectures), Rethinking Informed Consent in Bioethics (jointly with Neil Manson, 2007),  Constructing Authorities: Reason, Politics and Interpretation in Kant's Philosophy, (2016);  Justice Across Boundaries: Whose Obligations? (2017), From Principles to Practice (2018) and A Philosopher Looks at Digital Communication (2022) as well as numerous articles in philosophical journals and on public affairs.  She currently works on practical judgement and normativity; conceptions of public reason and of autonomy; trust and accountability; the ethics of communication, and on Kant’s philosophy.    

She has been awarded the Kant Prize, the Holberg Prize and the Berggruen Prize.

The audience of academics, students, practitioners and members of the judiciary included members of Professor John M. Kelly’s family.   Guests at the lecture included many notable alumni including the Attorney General, Mr Rossa Fanning and former Chief Justice Mr Justice Ronan Keane. The lecture honours the memory of Professor Kelly, (1931-1991) who was Professor of Jurisprudence and editor of the Irish Jurist as well as a government minister and Attorney General.

Former Chief Justice, Mr Justice Ronan Keane with Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan (retired)

Dr Alexa Zellentin, UCD School of Philosophy, in conversation with Dr Emer Hunt, UCD Sutherland School of Law

Two former Attorneys General, Dermot Gleeson SC (left) with David Byrne SC 

John Harte (BCL 1990) and Jane Harte with Dr Emer Hunt and students Rosa and Sarah Geoghegan   

Leading scholar of international refugee and migration law appointed Full Professor at UCD Sutherland School of Law

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Cathryn Costello to the position of Full Professor of Law at UCD Sutherland School of Law.

Cathryn Costello is currently Professor of Fundamental Rights, and Co-Director of the Centre for Fundamental Rights at the Hertie School, Berlin and Andrew W Mellon Professor of International Refugee and Migration Law at the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford. She is a visiting professor at the University of Oslo, and has held fellowships at the University of Melbourne and New York University. 

Professor Costello is a leading scholar of international refugee and migration law, and has pioneered the study of the intersection of labour and migration law. She is co-editor with Michelle Foster and Jane McAdam of the Oxford Handbook of International Refugee Law (OUP 2021). Her monograph on the (opens in a new window)Human Rights of Migrants and Refugees in European Law (OUP 2015) was co-awarded the 2016 Odysseus Academic Prize for ‘outstanding academic research in the area of European Immigration or Asylum Law’. She is currently in the final stages of an ERC project, RefMig, on mobility, status and rights in the global refugee and migration regimes ((opens in a new window)www.refmig.org), and is also the lead principal investigator of a Volkswagen European challenges project on automated decision-making in asylum and migration, (opens in a new window)AFAR.

Professor Costello has a DPhil in Law from the University of Oxford, an LLM from the College of Europe, Bruges, and a BCL from University College Cork. She commenced her academic career at the Law School, Trinity College Dublin, where she also directed the Irish Centre for European Law. 

Professor Colin Scott, Principal, UCD College of Social Sciences and Law and Vice President for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at UCD said: ‘Professor Costello will be joining the Faculty in July 2023, bringing not only outstanding teaching experience and research credentials, but also great experience of interdisciplinary institution building. At UCD, she will develop new institutional collaborations on global migration law and governance.’ 

Professor Laurent Pech, Dean of Law and Head of the UCD Sutherland School of Law commented: ‘The Sutherland School of Law is delighted to welcome Professor Costello, a leading scholar of international and European refugee and migration law. Her appointment will further strengthen our School’s teaching and research capabilities in many aspects of EU and human rights law.’

Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC appointed Adjunct Full Professor at UCD Sutherland School of Law

We are pleased to announce that leading human rights lawyer, Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, will join the School as an Adjunct Full Professor from September 2023. Caoilfhionn is a graduate of the school and was awarded the UCD Law Alumni Award in 2017. She practises as a barrister with Doughty Street Chambers in London and is a specialist in human rights law, public law, media law, inquests/inquiries, community care and prison law.

Caoilfhionn has acted in many landmark human rights cases before the European Court of Human Rights, United Nations bodies and other international tribunals, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and courts in the UK and a number of other jurisdictions.

Her prominent work has included acting for bereaved families and survivors of the 7/7 London bombings and the Hillsborough disaster, and her involvement in a number of high-profile case related to journalists’ safety, including acting for the family of Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was assassinated in Malta in 2017, and Jimmy Lai, the media owner, writer and pro-democracy campaigner imprisoned in Hong Kong. Earlier this year she (opens in a new window)was appointed as Ireland’s special rapporteur on child protection.

We look forward to the contribution that Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC will make to the school and the inspiration she will provide to our students.

Court of Appeal Workshop

Dr Mark Coen and Dr Noel McGrath coordinated a two-day workshop on the Court of Appeal of Ireland on Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th May 2023. Fifteen papers were delivered over two days by distinguished scholars from Ireland and other jurisdictions. The workshop is a key aspect of a project examining the first ten years of the Court of Appeal, which was established following a constitutional referendum in 2014. The project is located in the Centre for the Common Law in Europe (CCLE) in the Sutherland School of Law.

Copy of Donnybrook Magdalene Laundry Book Presented to the President of Ireland

On Wednesday 10 May 2023 Dr Mark Coen of the Sutherland School of Law at UCD, along with his co-editors Professor Katherine O'Donnell (School of Philosophy, UCD) and Dr Maeve O'Rourke (Irish Centre for Human Rights, University of Galway), presented a copy of their book A Dublin Magdalene Laundry: Donnybrook and Church-State Power in Ireland to President Michael D Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin. 

Published by Bloomsbury Academic, the book examines the history and legacy of Donnybrook Magdalene Laundry, which operated from 1837 to 1992. The book's interdisciplinary approach and discovery of new information that contradicts the official State narrative on the Magdalene Laundries has received widespread media coverage, some of which is available here.

Photo credit: Ann Lane

UCD team wins the 2023 Corn Adomnáin – International Humanitarian Law Competition

UCD School of Law Winning team (l to r) Donna Paru, Moyin Adelakun and Alanna Grogan

The UCD team of three brilliant law students – Moyin Adelakun, Alanna Grogan and Donna Parau – won the 2023 Corn Adomnáin International Humanitarian Law Competition. The team was supported in their preparations by Dr Amrei Müller, Lecturer/Assistant Professor (Ad Astra Fellow) at UCD Sutherland School of Law. We congratulate our students for this outstanding achievement!

The Corn Adomnáin competition is organised annually for students studying law in Ireland by the Irish Red Cross (IRC). This year, the competition was hosted by UCD Centre for Human Rights in the Sutherland School of Law on the 11^th of March 2023. The Centre is very grateful for this excellent cooperation with the IRC.

Built around a fictitious case study of an armed conflict, nine teams from Irish universities were competing in role-plays and simulations, challenging participants to explain and apply the core rules of IHL. The activities covered the protection of historical monuments, the local environment, agricultural sites as well as dams and dykes; the detention of prisoners of war (POWs) and members of armed groups; the role of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in armed conflicts; and the protections IHL affords to women and to victims of rape and sexual violence in armed conflict. The competition also included a gaming scenario where teams had to make decisions in real-time on the conduct of a ground operation in accordance with IHL. The competition ended an International Criminal Court (ICC) moot court involving a case against a General and a Commander. The moot court was judged by Judges Shireen Fisher (Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone), Hilkka Becker (International Protection Appeals Tribunal) and Patricia McNamara (District Court).

UCD Centre for Human Rights and Sutherland School of Law are very proud of the winning UCD team! 

UCD Sutherland Opportunity supported by Mason Hayes & Curran BURSARIES 

Call for Applications

The UCD Sutherland School of Law is now inviting applications for the UCD Sutherland Opportunity Supported by Mason Hayes & Curran LLP Bursaries from undergraduate and graduate law students in the School who are facing economic or financial challenges.

This very generous bursary scheme is funded by Mason Hayes & Curran LLP and is designed to support UCD law students who face a financial challenge in continuing their undergraduate studies, or in pursuing graduate study at UCD Sutherland School of Law.

Incoming exchange students are not eligible to apply for these bursaries (although incoming BCL/Maitrise students are eligible to apply).

Students who have previously applied for a bursary - whether successfully or unsuccessfully - are very welcome to apply again. Also students already in receipt of Cothram na Féinne scholarships as part of UCD Sutherland Opportunity supported by Mason Hayes & Curran LLP are welcome to apply for bursaries.

All applications must be completed via the relevant online application form – (opens in a new window)click here to access the application form.

Applicants must provide their student name, student number and UCDConnect email address on the form.

The closing deadline for submission of fully completed applications is by no later than 5pm on Wednesday, 8 February 2023.

(Please note that if you don't see the form it may be that you need to sign into your google/UCD connect account. If you are on an Apple device, you may need to use another browser other than Safari)

HRER/ UCD Conference 12 June 2023: Programme now available

We are pleased to announce that the programme for this conference is now available to download here .

This conference is hosted by the UCD Centre for Human Rights in association with the International Conference for Education and Democratic Citizenship (ICEDC) and Human Rights Education Review

Date/Time: Monday 12 June 2023, 9.30 – 17.00

Venue: University College Dublin, Centre for Human Rights, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland

Title:  Human Rights and Education: past, present and future.

Background 

The ICEDC annual conference is a meeting place for scholars, researchers, graduate students, education policymakers, and civil society activists from across Europe and internationally.  This year’s annual conference is being organised by the UCD Centre for Human Rights in Dublin, Ireland in association with the journal  (opens in a new window)Human Rights Education Review (HRER).  The conference will be a unique opportunity to present and discuss current research and policy relating to education for human rights and democratic citizenship. We welcome research papers and poster presentations addressing education for human rights and democratic citizenship from sociology, education, law, history, politics, geography and other relevant disciplines, as well as analyses of policy and case studies of campaigns and curriculum development.  

Call for papers (Deadline 13 March 2023) 

The 14th ICEDC Annual Conference is a contribution to the World Education Research Association (WERA) International Research Network (IRN) in Human Rights Education (HRE).  It will take place on the 75th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human RIghts (UDHR) which was adopted by the UN in 1948. Education is central to the fulfillment of many of the rights in the Declaration and Article 26 of the text expressly provides that the right to education itself should be directed “...to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms”.

The conference welcomes papers that explicitly address the theory and practice of human rights education and children’s rights education. Human rights and international law are threatened by the flouting of international commitments in the name of national interest  and security concerns. Human rights education is ever more urgently required to ensure populations are aware of the role of human rights in promoting freedom, justice and peace  in the world.  

We invite papers that address issues of human rights and education. We welcome papers  that focus on ways in which this right has been and is being respected, protected and  fulfilled in different contexts. Papers may also address issues where this right has been  denied through discrimination by, for instance, gender, ethnicity, disability and sexuality.  Our primary focus is past and present but we also welcome papers which address the future of human rights education and ways of strengthening the HRE curriculum.  

The WERA IRN, established in 2019, has a founding membership from 10 countries across 4 continents. The founding members are also members of the editorial team of Human Rights Education Review, an open access, online international scholarly journal published by the University of South-Eastern Norway. (opens in a new window)Human Rights Education Review (HRER) provides a forum for research and critical scholarship on human rights and diversity in education internationally, and it forms a pillar of the WERA IRN. Our plan is to publish some of the best papers from ICEDC 2023.  

Abstracts of no more than 300 words including name, institutional affiliation and contact  email should be sent, no later than Monday 13 March 2023 to: Dr. Suzanne Egan, (opens in a new window)suzanne.egan@ucd.ie. All abstracts will be peer reviewed by members of the ICEDC steering  group (Professor Audrey Osler, Professor Hugh Starkey and Dr. Suzanne Egan). Please indicate whether you would prefer to give an oral or a poster presentation.  Applicants will be informed of the outcome of the review by Tuesday 21 March 2023.  

Professor Gráinne de Búrca awarded UCD Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws

Prof Imelda Maher, Prof Laurent Pech, Prof Orla Feely, Prof Gráinne de Búrca and Prof Colin Scott

Professor Gráinne de Búrca, New York University Law School, was recently awarded a UCD Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws.  UCD Sutherland School of Law was pleased to have had this opportunity to honour one of the school's most distinguished alumni. 

Professor de Búrca is the Florence Ellinwood Allen Professor of Law at NYU.  She is a law graduate of UCD, the University of Michigan and Kings Inns. She started her career as a researcher at the Law Reform Commission in Dublin before moving to Oxford University and then onto the prestigious European University Institute in Florence. She was the first Irish person to hold a tenured chair at Harvard Law School before taking up her current role at NYU.  Her work has covered three important and related domains of law: European Union Law, Human Rights Law, and Constitutional Law. She is widely published across these areas and, in her career to date, has edited or co-edited eleven books.  This is in addition to her more than 80 articles and book chapters in prestigious journals and edited collections. 

At the conferring ceremony in O’Reilly Hall, our colleague, Professor Imelda Maher, delivered a wonderful tribute to Professor de Búrca before a large audience of graduating students and their families. Professor Maher took the opportunity to outline Professor de Búrca’s many achievements and her unrivalled contribution to the field of law. She described how Professor de Búrca has been an inspiration for generations of law students, with a distinctive voice which is rigorous, original, exacting in legal analysis, while engaging with and advancing debates on governance and law. Professor Maher added that her scholarship has advanced the boundaries of our knowledge and understanding of law which is why UCD is proud to award her with an honorary doctorate.

Professor Maher’s full citation for Professor Gráinne de Búrca can be read at this link.

Further Learning in Employment Law

We are delighted to offer graduates of the Professional Diploma in Employment Law the chance to attend a number of update lectures in 2023.  Graduates of the Diploma may register at the booking link below to attend the following lectures in the 2023 Diploma programme:

1 February 2023: Practice and Procedure before the WRC and Labour Court (Kevin Roche BL)

This lecture will include an examination of developments since the Supreme Court decision in Zalewski, including the enactment of the Workplace Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021 and the adoption of the Labour Court Rules 2022.

1 March 2023: Protected Disclosures (Dr Lauren Kierans BL)

This lecture will examine the changes to the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 brought about by the implementation of Directive 2019/1937/EU through the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022.

30* March 2023: Gender Pay Equality (Dr Sara La Huerta)

This lecture will examine the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 and the Employment Equality Act 1998 (Section 20A) (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations (S.I. No. 264 of 2022).

5 April 2023: Organisation of Working Time (Anthony Kerr SC)

This lecture will include an examination of recent decisions of the CJEU on the status of “standby/on-call time” (Case C-344/19, Radiotelevisija Slovenija; Case C-107/19, Dopravni) and annual leave entitlements (Case C-214/16, King; Case C-684/16 Shimizu; Case C-385/17, Hein; Case C-120/21, LB).

12 April 2023: Workplace Privacy (Cathal McGreal BL)

This lecture will include an examination of the implications for workplaces of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the decisions of the ECtHR in Barbulescu and Lopex Ribalda.

Lectures will generally take place on Wednesday evenings between 18:00 and 20:00 in the Sutherland School of Law (*Note: 30 March is a Thursday).   The cost to attend an individual lecture is €250 or €1000 for all five.   Register below to attend or if you have any queries please email (opens in a new window)lawdiplomas@ucd.ie.

UCD Law Team wins the National Moot Court Competition 2022

(L to R) Méabh de Courcy MacDonnell, Robert O’Sullivan, Ms Justice Carmel Stewart, Mr Justice John McMenamin, Tom Casey and Hugh Joyce

Congratulations to our three final year law students who made up the winning team at The National Moot Court Competition 2022. They were Méabh de Courcy MacDonnell (Stage 4, BCL), Hugh Joyce (Stage 4, Business and Law) and Robert O’Sullivan (Stage 4, BCL).

The National Moot Court Competition, organised by Dublin City University (DCU), is an annual inter-law school event designed to give law students an opportunity to showcase their skills before prominent members of the legal profession.

The competition took place on 19 November in the Criminal Courts of Justice with 26 teams from across Ireland and the UK competing. The final was held in front of a judging panel of Mr Justice John McMenamin of the Supreme Court, Ms Justice Carmel Stewart of the High Court and Tom Casey, Partner at A&L Goodbody Solicitors. The UCD team came up against a strong Dublin City University (DCU) team in the final with Hugh Joyce awarded Best Speaker.

Mooting and Advocacy is a popular subject for final year students in UCD Sutherland School of Law.  It is taught by Associate Professor James McDermott who is a practising barrister and coached the winning UCD team.

Dr Michael F Farrell, human rights activist, awarded Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws

Prof Colin Scott, Dr Liam Thornton, Dr Michael Farell, Prof Mark Rogers, Dr Niamh Thornton

UCD Sutherland School of Law was delighted to confer the renowned human rights activist, Dr Michael F Farrell, with an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws at a recent graduation ceremony.

Our colleague, Dr Liam Thornton, delivered a wonderful tribute to Dr Farrell outlining his many achievements.  Dr Thornton spoke about how he dedicated his professional life to highlighting injustices within our society and how he has utilised law as a means to uphold the civil and human rights of marginalised groups.

Michael Farell is a graduate of Queen’s University, Belfast, and the University of Strathclyde. Hailing from Magherafelt in County Derry, he was a civil rights leader and activist in the 1960s and 1970s.  In the 1980s, he gained a distinguished reputation in journalism, highlighting amongst other issues, the campaign for justice for the Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four.

Having subsequently obtained a legal qualification, he was the first Irish lawyer who, on behalf of his client, brought a case to the United Nations Human Rights Committee. He then joined the Free Legal Advice Centres, FLAC, where his litigation work has been highly praised in social welfare law,  asylum and refugee law and the rights of persons who are transgender. At the Irish Council for Civil Liberties his work on the Law Society’s Human Rights Committee, contributed positively to a whole range of areas for proposed law reform.

Dr Thornton’s full citation for Dr Michael F Farell can be read at this link.

UCD Law alumna, Judge Síofra O’Leary, appointed president of European Court of Human Rights

UCD Sutherland School of Law warmly congratulates our distinguished UCD Law alumna, Judge Síofra O’Leary, who took up the role of president of the European Court of Human Rights on 1 November. She is the first woman and the first Irish person to serve as president of the court in its 63-year history.  The court has jurisdiction in respect of 46 member states with a population of 675 million.

Judge O’Leary is a 1989 BCL graduate from UCD and has been a regular visitor to the school.  In 2017 she delivered the Walsh Lecture on the topic 'Balancing Rights in a Digital Age' and in October 2019 joined her classmates to celebrate their Milestone Reunion.

The appointment of the Dublin-born judge has been welcomed across the political and legal professions and amongst human rights activists in Ireland.

Prior to taking up her role, she and a delelgation of six senior members of the European Court of Human Rights visited Ireland. The two-day visit began with a series of meetings with senior members of the Irish judiciary focused on the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights.  The visit of the ECHR delegation coincided with Ireland’s presidency of the Council of Europe and Chief Justice Donal O’Donnell described this as a “truly historic event”, noting that the protection of rights “is, if anything, more pressing than it was almost 70 years ago when Ireland ratified the convention”.

Large numbers of Alumni attend the 2022 Milestone Reunion

We were delighted to host a Milestone Reunion in Sutherland School of Law for the first time since 2019. This year it was the classes of 1982, 1992, 2002 and 2012 who came together to celebrate their Milestone years.

After two years of in person events being curtailed, it was wonderful to see the nearly 200 alumni gather together again in person and enjoy sharing stories, memories and rekindling connections. Following a welcome from UCD Alumni Relations, guests enjoyed music by the wonderful harpist and canapes and wine. The alumni were taken on a brief walk down memory lane by UCD law faculty stalwart, Lecturer John O’Dowd, who highlighted some key moments from the School in the years that had passed since many were last on campus. Indeed, some of John’s former students were among those present on the night.and many more had never visited Sutherland building previously and we were able to admire its excellent facilities.

Each class subsequently moved to breakout rooms to spend more time together with their peers, listen to their class speakers, swap stories and have their class photo taken (see photo gallery below). 

As ever, the Class Reps were a tremendous help to the Alumni Relations team in contacting classmates, helping gather a memorable selection of photos from across the years which were displayed on digital screens during the event, and creating a great atmosphere.for this wonderful occasion. We are grateful to all who assisted in making the night such a great success.

To ensure you don’t miss out on news of Reunions and other UCD Sutherland School of Law events, please make sure we have your up to date details so we can contact you. You can update your details here: (opens in a new window)https://alumni.ucd.ie/updateyourdetails/

The Class of 1982

The Class of 1992

The BCL Class of 2002

The BBLS CLass of 2002

The BCL and BBL Classes of 2012

Unveiling of Portrait of Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinness

Dr Mark Coen, Miseon Lee, Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinness and Tara Doyle at the unveiling. Photo credit: Ann Lane

UCD Sutherland School of Law congratulates Dr Mark Coen for leading a project that culminated in a portrait being commissioned of former Supreme Court judge Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinness for the National Gallery of Ireland.

President Michael D Higgins unveiled the portrait at an event attended by Judge McGuinness’ family and friends and by guests from the worlds of law and politics. Several UCD Law alumni, including Mr Justice Gerard Hogan, Mr Justice Michael Peart and broadcaster Miriam O’Callaghan were also in attendance

The unveiling was the culmination of a project that began in 2019, when Dr Mark Coen contacted the Director of the Gallery, Sean Rainbird, making the case for the inclusion of a portrait of Judge McGuinness in the national collection. Dr Coen liaised with the Gallery and with Judge McGuinness herself, and recruited a generous donor, Tara Doyle, who presented the portrait to the nation.

The portrait, by artist Miseon Lee, has been much admired by visitors to the Gallery since it went on display. It is a portrait of Catherine McGuinness the person rather than a formal judicial portrait and is a fitting tribute to her long and varied life of public service, including time as a senator, member of the Council of State and President of the Law Reform Commission.

Dr Łukasz Grzejdziak appointed to EU Project for sustainable reforms in Ukraine's justice sector 

Dr. hab. Łukasz Grzejdziak, the Ronan Harty Newman Fellow at the Sutherland School of Law, has been appointed an International Expert in a major training program in Ukraine organised with the National School
of Judges of Ukraine and funded by the EU through the Pravo-Justice Project. The Project aims to share best practice between the Ukrainian authorities and experts from the EU Member States with a view to sustainable reforms in the justice sector of Ukraine.

In his role, Dr. Grzejdziak leads a series of training and workshop sessions (working remotely) for Ukrainian judges on the Fundamentals of the EU Law. During the workshops, judges will have the opportunity to learn crucial knowledge about the legal and institutional framework of the European Union and its major policies.

Mr Justice Gerard Hogan launches ‘Palles: The Legal Legacy of the Last Lord Chief Baron’

On October 5, the Sutherland School of Law hosted the launch of (opens in a new window)Palles: The Legal Legacy of the Last Lord Chief Baron (Four Courts Press, 2022), co-edited by Professor Oonagh Breen and Dr Noel McGrath.  The book, which is the culmination of a 5-year research initiative involving law and history academics from UCD, TCD, NUIM, UCC and Denver Colorado, celebrates the judicial legacy of Christopher Palles (1831-1920), one of the common law’s longest serving judges, a century after his death. In his keynote speech, Mr Justice Gerard Hogan congratulated the book’s contributors on producing “beautiful, elegant and interesting essays” and commended the work as a fitting tribute to the Chief Baron. The Law School was delighted to welcome UCD Library staff who displayed some of the Palles Special Collection, including Palles’ manuscript charge sheets; and Noelle Dowling, Archivist of the Archdiocese of Dublin, who displayed the draft trust deed gifting Palles’ library to the newly formed UCD, along with correspondence relating to the valuation of the Palles’ library which Archbishop Walsh purchased from the Palles estate in 1920. 

The launch was well attended by friends and colleagues of UCD Law School, including Law school alumni, members of the judiciary, members of the Irish Legal History Society and representatives of Clongowes Wood College. The book is available for purchase from (opens in a new window)Four Courts Press.

Anthony Kerr SC, Professor Oonagh Breen and Chief Justice Donal O’Donnell examining the UCD Special Collection’s Palles’ books.

 Book Contributors, (Dr) Desmond Ryan BL, Beth Cope Whitenight (representing the late Tom Cope), (Assoc Professor) Kevin Costello, Mr Justice Gerard Hogan, (Dr) Noel McGrath BL, (Professor) Oonagh Breen, (Associate Professor) Niamh Howlin and (Dr) Mark Coen

 Anthony Kerry SC, Ms Justice Una Ni Raifeartaigh and Dr Mark Coen

Brian Dempsey SC with Professor Gavin Barrett

Professor Paul O’Connor,  Judge Kathyrn Hutton and Daire Hogan with ArchDiocese archives in the background

Conferring of UCD Matheson PhD Scholar in Commercial Law

Dr Alexandru-Gabriel Soptica-Vid with Dr Niamh Howlin, Dean of Law

UCD Sutherland School of Law congratulates Dr Alexandru-Gabriel Soptica-Vid who was recently conferred with a Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). He was the recipient of the UCD Matheson Scholarship in Commercial Law while in UCD and was supervised throughout his PhD by our colleague, Dr Mary-Catherine Lucey.  Alexandru’s thesis title was: “Reformulating the contribution of EU Private International Law to the development of the private enforcement of EU competition law”.

Alexandru has written the following piece about his doctoral studies at UCD Sutherland School of Law:

“My PhD thesis combined two specialised areas of EU law, namely EU competition law and EU Private International Law (PIL). Public enforcement has been the mechanism traditionally used for safeguarding the objectives of EU competition law. More recently, the EU legislator is investing significant effort in designing a complementary private enforcement mechanism which allows individuals to seek remedies before national courts against the harmful effects produced by breaches of the Treaty rules on competition. The majority of these claims include cross-border elements, and, the EU PIL instruments are indispensable to answer the questions of which courts have jurisdiction to hear the claim and what law applies to the matter. The thesis answers the question of: ‘what is and should be the role of EU PIL in the development of the EU competition law private enforcement mechanism?’.

I am deeply grateful to my supervisor, Dr Mary Catherine Lucey who has helped me enormously during my programme, particularly during my final two years during the Covid pandemic which have been very challenging.

I am also thankful to Matheson for generously supporting my research activity through the ‘UCD Matheson Doctoral Scholarship in Commercial Law’. Furthermore, I am thankful for their moral support, as it was a rewarding experience each time I was invited at the Matheson offices to present my research findings.

Prior to the PhD degree in UCD Sutherland School of Law, I studied an LLM in International Commercial Law at University of Aberdeen in Scotland and a Bachelor of Laws at Babes-Bolyai University in Romania “.

UCD PhD Student Awarded Irish Research Council Funding

Congratulations to UCD Law PhD candidate, Sharon Etokhana, who has been awarded doctoral funding from the (opens in a new window)Irish Research Council Enterprise Partnership Scheme. Having successfully completed a bachelor’s degree in Law (LLB) in Lancaster University, United Kingdom in 2017, she qualified as a Barrister-at-Law and Solicitor in the Nigerian Law School in 2018. In 2019, she completed a Master’s degree (LLM) specialising in human rights and criminal justice at the University of Limerick, graduating with first class honours degree. In 2021, Sharon commenced her PhD in law at University College Dublin.

Sharon’s PhD research asks how and why Irish law developed its current sex trafficking law model. The research analyses what changes may be necessary within law and/or policy to enhance human rights compliance. Sharon’s research provides an opportunity for comprehensive critical analysis on the complexities present in the sex trafficking law and policy in light of political influences, feminist theoretical discourse and migrant specific needs and vulnerabilities. Through in-depth contextual analysis of law, policy and practice from a rights-based approach, a strategy for the prevention and prosecution of sex trafficking in proposed. The research is supervised by (opens in a new window)Dr Liam Thornton, associate professor, UCD Sutherland School of Law. The enterprise partner for this research is (opens in a new window)Akina Dada wa Africa( AkiDwA) a Dublin based migrant women NGO

Professor Laurent Pech appointed Dean at UCD Sutherland School of Law

Professor Colin Scott, Principal of the UCD College of Social Sciences and Law, has announced the appointment of Professor Laurent Pech as the incoming Dean at UCD Sutherland School of Law. He will take over the role from Dr Niamh Howlin in October for a three-year term after which he will then hold a continuing appointment as Full Professor of Law in the School. The Sutherland School of Law is delighted to welcome Professor Pech to the position and looks forward to his leadership over the next number of years.

Laurent Pech is currently Professor of European Law and Head of the Law and Politics Department at Middlesex University London. He is also a Visiting Professor of Law at Bordeaux University, a Senior Research Fellow at the CEU Democracy Institute in Budapest, and the co-director of The Good Lobby Profs which he co-founded in 2021. From 2018 to 2022, Laurent was a member of a H2020 funded four-year multidisciplinary research project on "Reconciling Europe with its Citizens through Democracy and the Rule of Law" (RECONNECT). He is currently a member of the editorial board of the Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, a member of the advisory board of RECLAIM (Human Rights NGO based in Brussels) and the international advisory boards of GEM-DIAMON (EU Horizon funded research project) and RESILIO (Resilience observatory on the rule of law in Europe funded by Stiftung Mercator). Laurent has been a visiting professor at many institutions, including his alma mater: Aix-Marseille University. In September 2022, Laurent will be based at the Institute of Advanced Studies of the Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, following his appointment as Visiting Fellow. 

Professor Pech specialises in EU Public Law and has lectured in a variety of subjects including EU Constitutional Law, EU Internal Market Law, EU Competition Law and European Human Rights Law. He was Jean Monnet Chair of European Public Law from 2014-17. Prior to his appointment at Middlesex University, Laurent was Jean Monnet Lecturer in EU Public Law at the National University of Ireland Galway. During the course of his academic career, Laurent also worked in Canada (Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Canada Research Chair on Globalization, Citizenship and Democracy) and in the United States (Emile Noel Fellow at NYU Law). He has worked as a legal consultant in many post-conflict or EU candidate countries such as Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Latvia and Montenegro. He has also worked as an external examiner at many institutions including the Law Society of Ireland  and regularly works as an expert evaluator for national research funding bodies as well as the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Laurent is the author of one casebook, two monographs, multiple commissioned reports and studies, and more than one hundred scholarly publications, on such subjects as rule of law backsliding in Europe, the right to an independent tribunal established by law and the right to free speech in comparative law. He also regularly provides expert advice on rule of law matters, including in the context of judicial proceedings either before national or European courts.

The Class of 2022 

Business and Law

Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL)

Law with Economics

Law with Politics

Law with History

Law with Social Justice

Law with French Law

Law with Philosophy 

Law and Chinese Studies

Law with Irish

Magdalene Laundries: Told, Acknowledged and Not Forgotten

The College of Social Sciences & Law recently held a powerful panel discussion on the “Magdalene Laundries: Told, Acknowledged and Not Forgotten” at the 2022 (opens in a new window)UCD Festival on June 11.

Based on the book, “Ireland and the Magdalene Laundries: A Campaign for Justice”, authored by a number of UCD alumni and academics, this conversation examined how the Justice for Magdalenes campaign changed the mindset of Irish society and led to the Government’s announcement of a national site of research and remembrance. The discussion was facilitated by Colm O’Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland. The panel included UCD BCL alumna Dr Maeve O'Rourke, activist Mary Harney and Magdalene Laundry survivor Lyndsay Rehn.

Dr O’Rourke, Assistant Professor of Human Rights at the Irish Centre for Human Rights and School of Law, NUI Galway, who is also a co-author of the book, began by providing a realistic understanding of the historical background and explanation of how the book came about. Maeve explained, 

“In 1993, Mary Rafertaigh found out that the nuns in High Park which was one of the 10 Magdalene Laundries. High Park in Drumcondra had sold some land and it turned out when Mary dug into this sale that they had managed to get a license for exhumation and cremation of 155 women without producing death certificates for the majority and without producing death certificates for the majority of them, without being able to name all of the women and that still remains to be the case today so the Justice for Campaign was in response to the fact that injustice is not historical. It was so clear then that it was ongoing and it’s so clear now that it is. 

The book chronicles all of the work for Justice for Magdalenes and others did to bring about a State apology in 2013 to survivors of the Magdalene Laundries. It situates the Magdalene Laundries in that much broader context of institutional and family separation abuse that affected more than 1% of the Irish population in the 20th century. Professor Ian O’Donnell of UCD Sutherland School of Law and Eoin O’Sullivan (Trinity College Dublin) have demonstrated that by 1951 over 1% of the Irish population was incarcerated so the Magdalene Laundries is part of that whole system.”

Mary and Lyndsay shared their personal experiences and also focused on where things are currently at for the Campaign and what they’re hoping will happen in the near future to acknowledge the survivors and educate the nation. 

Mary who was born in Bessborough Mother and Baby Institution, illegally fostered and later sent to an industrial school from the age of 5-16, is determined that future generations of Irish citizens shall know, through education and memorialization the truth about Ireland's institutions and to ensure they are never forgotten. 

Lyndsay is a Magdalene survivor who spent time in An Grianan and worked in the laundry as a young girl. Accompanied by a number of other survivors, Lyndsay instigated the Judicial Review to have An Grianan included in the Magdalene Redress Scheme. She opened the door for others in similar centres across the country to be added to the scheme. 

For anyone who would like to learn more about the Magdalene Laundries and the Campaign for Justices, make sure to visit the Justice for Magdalene Research (opens in a new window)website.

The book can be purchased from a number of places including Dubray, Easons, Amazon and Waterstones. For more information on the authors and/or the book, click (opens in a new window)here.

From L to R: Colm O’Gorman, Lyndsay Rehn, Mary Harney and Maeve O’Rourke

Professor John D Feerick conferred with honorary Degree of Doctor of Law

Professor John D Feerick (centre) with (left to right) Dr Niamh Howlin, Professor Imelda Maher and Professor Mark Rogers

The Acting President of UCD, Professor Mark Rogers, along with the Dean of Law, Dr Niamh Howlin, congratulated Professor John D Feerick on the occasion of the conferring of an honorary Degree of Doctor of Law.  Professor Imelda Maher, former Dean of Law, delivered an inspiring citation at a conferring ceremony held in the Moot Court at the Sutherland School of Law on 14 June 2022.  Professor Feerick's family and friends, students from Fordham Law School, Queen’s University Belfast and UCD Sutherland School of Law, UCD faculty and members of the judiciary were in attendance.
Professor Maher summarised Professor Feerick’s many achievements and the extraordinary work that he has undertaken across his stellar career. Professor Feerick is an Irish-American with an outstanding sense of public service whose scholarship informed the drafting and adoption of the 25th Amendment of the United States Constitution. Later, as Dean of Fordham Law School, Professor Feerick participated in the first visit by a United States President to Northern Ireland, which was a seminal moment in the peace process that culminated in the Belfast Agreement. He first instigated a conflict resolution programme for Northern Ireland based in Fordham and, with the support of Professors John Jackson and Paul O’Connor, set up the Fordham/Queens University and University College Dublin Law Summer School which is now in its 21st year.

Click here for a copy of the Introductory address by Professor Imelda Maher

2022 Matheson | UCD Leadership Series Crypto and the Digital Assets Revolution: What’s Next?

(L to R) Michael Jackson, Managing Partner, Matheson, and Dr Niamh Howlin, Dean of Law, UCD Sutherland School of Law

On 11 May 2022, leading Irish law firm Matheson together with UCD Sutherland School of Law hosted a hybrid conference titled “Crypto and the Digital Assets Revolution: What’s Next?” at the O’Reilly Hall in UCD.

Dr Niamh Howlin, Dean of Law at UCD Sutherland School of Law, provided opening remarks and the keynote address was delivered by UCD alumna John Whelan, Managing Director, Crypto & Digital Assets at Banco Santander. The conference was comprised of panel discussions and conversations that reflected on the regulatory issues and the increasing significance of the FinTech sector in UCD’s graduate and undergraduate curriculum. 

Dr Howlin said; "The increasing significance of this area is reflected on our undergraduate and graduate curriculum. UCD now offers modules on Cryptocurrencies, Digital Finance, International Finance and Fintech.  These are cross-disciplinary areas requiring deep collaboration and engagement between academics from different fields and those who work in industry."

The discussions featured key UCD alumni within the industry and the regulatory environment (including Professor Joyce O’Connor, Founding President of National College of Ireland and Co-founder of Block W) together with members of Matheson’s dedicated FinTech team, senior executives from the international financial services industry, and addressed the opportunities, challenges and potential for Irish business in the area of blockchain, cryptocurrency and virtual assets.

Snapshot polls that were conducted at the event found that:

• Nearly 60% of respondents have already bought, or would consider buying crypto assets
• 97% believe that the difference between digital currencies and digital assets is not widely understood by the public.
• The vast majority (86%) believe that new regulation is essential for the widespread adoption of new products and services.
• In order to trust new technology, the most important consideration is having a greater understanding (62%), followed by data security and privacy (31.5%).

Delivering the closing address, Managing Partner of Matheson, Michael Jackson said; “I want to thank our speakers and panellists for their insightful and very interesting inputs.  The clear messages which we heard today are that the pace of change in this area is fast, the use cases for blockchain and crypto assets are evolving quickly and that regulation and legislation will need to evolve at a faster pace to reflect the impact of this. It was also clear that there is a real desire and need for more education about the technologies, opportunities and risks and that businesses, consumers and regulators need to continue to have dialogue and to share experiences to continue to build trust and to ensure that regulation continues to be targeted at the right risks in an appropriate way.”

Histories of Probation in Ireland: A Theoretical Analysis

(L to R): Gerry McNally, Deirdre Healy, Louise Kennefick, Nicola Carr, and His Honour Judge John O Connor

The UCD Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice and the Association for Criminal Justice Research and Development (ACJRD) co-hosted a seminar “Histories of Probation in Ireland: A Theoretical Analysis”.  This event was held on the 25 April 2022 in the UCD Sutherland School of Law, University College Dublin, was chaired by His Honour Judge John O'Connor, Judge of the Circuit Court.    

The Histories of Probation project, which is funded by the Fitzpatrick Family Foundation, is the first of its kind to produce a history of Irish probation from the perspective of core stakeholders, namely administrators, probation officers, and clients, as well as archival records. This seminar focused on the perspectives of people under probation supervision from the 1980s to the present day. By shedding new light on the experience of supervision and the narratives underpinning probation practice, their accounts challenge received wisdom about the history of probation in Ireland.

SPEAKERS:

Dr Deirdre Healy, Director of the UCD Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice

Dr Louise Kennefick, Senior Lecturer in Criminal Law, University of Glasgow

RESPONDENTS:

Dr Nicola Carr, Professor in Criminology, University of Nottingham

Gerry McNally, Assistant Director, The Probation Service, and President, Confederation of European Probation (CEP)

(Lto R): Ian O'Donnell, Mark Wilson (Director, Probation Service), Alison Coyne

Maura Butler (ACJRD), with Louise Kennefick and Deirdre Healy

Lord Hendy focuses on P&O Ferries for the 2022 Guest Lecture in Employment Law 

Lord John Hendy Guest Speaker

We were delighted to welcome the renowned employment lawyer, Lord John Hendy to deliver the Distinguished Guest Lecture in Employment Law 2022. The Lecture is an integral part of the School's Professional Diploma in Employment Law. Previous speakers include Professors Bernd Waas (Frankfurt), Catherine Barnard (Cambridge), Claire Kilpatrick (European University Institute), Jeremias Prassl (Oxford), Mark Bell (TCD) and Keith Ewing (King's College London). This year's lecture was delivered by Lord John Hendy QC, who is recognised as "the leading silk at the Employment Bar", on the topic of "P&O Ferries and Labour Law". 

 Guests at the reception that followed the lecture

A recording of Lord Hendy’s lecture can be viewed (opens in a new window)here.

Lord Hendy described how, and why, P&O Ferries, on 17 March 2022, dismissed 786 officers and crews on their ferries operating from and to the UK. They were replaced with agency crews from India and the Philippines on much lower wages and far worse terms and conditions of employment. This breached long-standing collective agreements and was done without any prior consultation with the seafarers' trade unions. Lord Hendy described why there was no legal remedy by which the unions or their members could prevent this and pointed out that UK law also prevented the unions from taking any industrial action, in particular "solidarity action", to protect their members' jobs. His conclusion was that UK labour law "failed utterly to protect the jobs, incomes, careers and industrial voice" of these workers.

 The 2022 Diploma in Employment Law class with Lord Hendy and Tony Kerr SC

Lord Sumption delivers the 2022 John M. Kelly lecture to a large audience in UCD Sutherland School of Law

UCD Sutherland School of Law was delighted to welcome Lord Johnathan Sumption to deliver the 2022 John M. Kelly Memorial Lecture in late March. Our distinguished alumnus, the Chief Justice, Mr Justice Donal O’Donnell introduced Lord Sumption on the evening. The Chief Justice is a former student of John Kelly’s from UCD and also delivered a lecture in the series in 2016. Dr Niamh Howlin, Dean of Law began the evening’s proceedings by welcoming the Chief Justice, the Kelly Family and the audience in attendance

Lord Sumption is a former senior British judge, an accomplished author and medieval historian. He served as a Justice of the UK Supreme Court from 2012 to 2018. He has written several books of Medieval history and four books on the Hundred Years War.  ‘The European Union and the Nation-state’ was the topic of Lord Sumption’s talk for the lecture. There was a very large audience in attendance to hear Lord Sumption speak on this highly topical subject and deliver an extremely wide ranging and interesting lecture. 

The audience of academics, students, practitioners and members of the judiciary included members of Professor John M. Kelly’s family.   Guests at the lecture included many notable alumni including the Attorney General, Mr Paul Gallagher and Senator Michael McDowell. The lecture honours the memory of Professor Kelly, (1931-1991) who was Professor of Jurisprudence and editor of the Irish Jurist as well as a government Minister and Attorney General.

A recording of the lecture will be available to view on this site shortly.

(L to R) Lord Sumption, Dr Niamh Howlin  and Chief Justice, Mr Justice Donal O’Donnell

(L to R) Mr Justice Brian Murray of the Supreme Court with Ms Justice Úna Ní Raifeartaigh of the Court of Appeal

(L to R) Mr Michael McNamara TD, Senator Michael McDowell and Mr Ciaran O'Meara

Chief Justice Launches UCD Student Legal Services Journal 2022

On Wednesday 6th April the launch of the UCD Student Legal Service Journal 2022 was held at the Sutherland School of Law. The Launch’s keynote speech was provided by the Chief Justice of Ireland, the Hon. Mr. Justice Donal O’Donnell, who also kindly contributed the foreword to this year’s Journal. Addresses were also given by Prof. Gavin Barrett of the Sutherland School of Law and Mr Edward McCann of Mediahuis. The Journal was kindly sponsored by the Irish Independent and Sunday Independent Newspapers.

From the left Students Jessica Commins and Joseph Boyle with The Hon. Mr Justice Donal O'Donnell, Chief Justice

The Journal is an entirely student-run publication with thirteen sub-editors and twenty-six contributors ranging from first year to masters level, led by Editors-in-Chief Jessica Commins (Law with History Stage 4) and Joseph Boyle (Law with Politics Stage 4).  This year's Journal explores the theme of 100 Years of the Irish State, marking the centenary of Irish independence. Contributors reflected on the successes and challenges of the Irish legal system over the past century, engaging with topics of domestic and international interest, including the development of child protection law in Ireland, comparisons of Irish and UK asylum reception systems and Ireland’s role on the UN Security Council. The online edition of the Journal can be accessed at (opens in a new window)https://bit.ly/3DSfrmn.

Title: The Rt. Hon the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Vincent Keaveny visits UCD Sutherland School of Law

The UCD Sutherland School of Law was honoured to host an event on Thursday, March 3, with UCD BCL '86 alumnus, the Rt Hon the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Vincent Keaveny who discussed some key priorities of his ‘(opens in a new window)People and Purpose’ mayoral theme with RTÉ broadcaster and fellow UCD Alumni Awardee in Law, Miriam O'Callaghan BCL '79.

From left to right: RTÉ broadcast journalist Miriam O'Callaghan, the Rt the Hon the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Vincent Keaveny and Dr. Niamh Howlin, Dean of UCD Sutherland School of Law

The discussion titled ‘Opening up the Marketplace: Getting more diverse talent into the financial and professional services professions’ was a wide-ranging interview followed by questions from the audience. The Lord Mayor began by reflecting on his time at UCD as a student and described his experiences as he progressed as a law graduate and prominent commercial city lawyer to the Mansion House.  He also referred to the late Peter Sutherland whose father imparted the following sage life advice, which was “if you’re on the pitch and the ball lands at your feet, kick it!” meaning ‘take the opportunities as they come’.

A law student asking a question during the Q&A session

The Lord Mayor offered insightful perspectives on the issues around social mobility and ideas on what people in the financial and professional industry can do to improve this.

“In the financial and professional services, despite research showing a positive business impact with a more diverse organisation, research also shows that people hired from a low socioeconomic background progress 25% slower.”

“Universities play a really critical role because that’s the point at which people begin to build up those networks that are really important and begin to think about the issues they’ll have to address to navigate through careers. I’m a huge fan, for instance, of mentoring.  It’s a really important aspect of progression within the professional and financial services.”

In attendance were UCD Sutherland School of Law students, faculty, friends of the School and members of the Lord Mayor’s BCL class of 1986. The Q&A also covered approaches to promoting greater diversity and demystifying a career in law both at schools’ level and within the profession.

From left to right: BCL' 86 graduates David Foley, Suzanne Egan, the Rt. Hon the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Vincent Keaveny and Aisling Sweeney.

To watch the full recording, please click (opens in a new window)here.

UCD Law hosts Student Event on The European Strategic Autonomy with Admiral Mellett (ret.) and Colone Dirou.

The UCD Sutherland School of Law was honoured to host a student event on The European Strategic Autonomy: Crossed Perspectives with guest speakers Admiral Mellett, former Chief of Staff of the Irish Defence Forces, and Colonel Dirou, Deputy Head of Defence Strategy, French Ministry of the Armed Forces.

The issue of conflicts worldwide, and more implicit conflicts affecting Europe, implies a broad understanding of how societies and countries interact, including how they view the use of their armed forces and to understand how governments and societies perceive the role of their defence forces in the face of the different threats (e.g., climate change threat, terrorist threats, traditional security threats etc.). Against this backdrop, several questions arise in the EU context. Does the EU have the means to ensure its security? What could be the role of the EU in respect of the Member States’ sovereignty? How can the EU encourage its citizens to feel more concerned about their security? What are the common threats?

Admiral Mark Mellett (ret.) and Colonel Armel Dirou offered insightful perspectives on these strategic issues. The Q&A with students covered a wide range of issues in relation to the actual fleshing out of the EU strategic autonomy in view of different challenges (climate crisis and migrant crisis). Questions about the articulation of the EU defence and security strategy and the role of NATO as well as the issue of the neutrality of Ireland were also discussed. (opens in a new window)Professor Ben Tonra, UCD Professor of International Relations at UCD School of Politics and International Relations, offered the concluding remarks touching upon the sovereignty and responsibility of member states.

Left to right: Col. Filser, Adm. Mellett (ret.), H.E. Guérend, Dr. Paris, Prof. Moore-Cherry, and Col. Dirou.

This was a timely discussion given the latest developments about defence. See also the interview of the French Ambassador H.E. Vincent Guérend (opens in a new window)here.

In attendance were UCD students in Law and in Political Science, students from other universities, as well as a number of other participants including the US and UK Military Attachés.

Adm. Mellett (ret.) delivering his address

The event was sponsored by the Embassy of France in Ireland and the UCD College of Social Sciences and Law (College Strategic Funding Scheme). It was organised by Dr. Marie-Luce Paris, UCD Sutherland School of Law, and Colonel Nicolas Filser, French Defence Attaché in Ireland.

Note that this event took place on 24 January 2022, after the lifting of most Covid restrictions.

Report for NI Charity Regulation Review published 

The Minister for Communities commissioned a Review of Charity Regulation in NI, led by an Independent Panel, which commenced on 25 January 2021. The Panel was chaired by Dr Oonagh B. Breen, Professor of Law at the Sutherland School of Law, University College Dublin.  Dr Breen was ably assisted by Rev Dr Lesley Carroll, Prisoner Ombudsman NI and Noel Lavery, former Permanent Secretary in the NI Civil Service.

The Review considered the Charities Act (NI) 2008 and the roles of the Charity Commission NI and the Department thereunder. The full Terms of Reference can be found (opens in a new window)here. In particular, it was tasked with examining whether the Commission’s performance within the existing legal framework struck the right balance, in light of best practice, between supporting charities to do the right thing and deterring, or dealing with misconduct. 

The Panel undertook a very comprehensive and inclusive engagement process and has delivered its Review Report with 93 recommendations on changes that could be considered to improve the delivery of services and the operation of the regulatory framework.   The Minister is considering the recommendations and the Department will publish its response and Action Plan in the coming weeks.

You can read the Independent Panel’s full report and recommendations here [(opens in a new window)https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/publications/independent-review-charity-regulation] 

UCD Law Students Refugee Law Mooting Success

UCD Sutherland School of Law congratulates four of our final year students who have progressed to the oral rounds of the(opens in a new window) International Migration and Refugee Law Moot Court Competition which takes place in Ghent in March 2022.   Jessica Commins, Jane Douglas, Kate Miller and Larisa Mirt achieved an excellent result based on their extensive written pleadings, engaging with complex arguments on entitlement to refugee status. The UCD Law team are one of twelve teams invited to Ghent to participate in the oral rounds, from an exceptionally competitive field of forty teams from twenty-three countries.

The team’s coaches for this mooting competition are Cillian Bracken BL and Dr Liam Thornton.

UCD School of Law wishes Jessica, Jane, Kate and Larisa the very best of luck in the oral rounds of this prestigious moot competition.

From left to right: Jesscia Commins (Law with History), Jane Douglas (Law with Social Justice), Kate Miller (Law with Social Justice), Larisa Mirt (Law with Philosophy) 

European Traineeships in Intellectual Property

UCD Sutherland School of Law students are encouraged to apply now for the Pan-European Seal Professional Traineeship Programme at the EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office). The deadline for applications is 15 March 2022.

This Traineeship Programme is a vehicle for early talent detection among Europe’s brightest and highest-achieving graduates. It targets young, aspiring graduates from several academic backgrounds (IP and non-IP) who will be sponsored by the EUIPO and the EPO for one year-long, paid traineeships.

Each member of the Pan-European Seal is entitled to submit yearly two shortlists, one for the EUIPO and one for the EPO.  An average of 100 trainees are selected from shortlists supplied from all members throughout Europe. Traineeships take place either at the EUIPO or the EPO with a monthly training allowance, as well as other benefits.

Trainees have the opportunity to benefit from on-the-job coaching by staff, as well as online training, e-courses in their field of expertise and language courses in one of the official languages of each office.

Interested UCD students should email Associate Dean, Dr Cliona Kelly at: (opens in a new window)cliona.kelly@ucd.ie for further information.

More Information on the Pan-European Seal Traineeship:

Website: For more information go to (opens in a new window)epo.org/pan-european-seal 

Video: For an insight into the Traineeship Programme and the first-hand experiences of former Trainees at the European Patent Office see(opens in a new window) https://bit.ly/PanEuropeanSealV

#PANEUROPEANSEAL